Best Friend or Something More?
by sweetsour115
Summary: Bella, Alice and Rosalie Swan are three sisters who just moved to Forks.  Jasper, Edward and Emmett Cullen are three brothers in Forks.  What happens when both sets of parents send them on a trip to Europe? Full Summary in Chapter 1!  J/B, A/E, R/Em
1. Chapter 1

Summary:

Bella, Alice and Rosalie Swan are three sisters who just moved to Forks. Jasper, Edward and Emmett Cullen are three brothers in Forks. What happens when both sets of parents send them on a trip to Europe? Jasper and Bella know each other from before and have a brother-sister relationship. What happens when Jasper realizes that Bella has new secrets now? Will their relationship grow into more or will one or both of them be left heartbroken? All Human. B*J , A*E, R*Em

**A/N: I'm Back! This is kinda like Story of My Life except with plot changes and different pairings. You don't have to read that to read this! Please R&R! **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga. **

JPOV:

"Jazzz! Jaazzz!" Someone called softly in my ear while pushing me.

"Unghh." I muttered unintelligibly before rolling around and trying to go back to sleep. Well I was trying to until I felt my comforter being dragged off me; leaving me exposed to the freezing cold Forks 'summer' air. I shot up and glared to my right where the irritating voice was coming from. I found Emmett looking at me with a huge smile on his face.

"Em, do you know what time it is? Why the hell are you waking me up at…_10:15 on the first day of vacation?" _I paused in the middle of my sentence to check the time on my phone.

"I'm bored and I wanna do something. I refuse to be sitting at home like a lifeless person during summer vacation!" He exclaimed loudly, waving his arms around for emphasis.

"Well why didn't you wake Edward up?"

He just gave me an exasperated look before he started talking, "You think I didn't try? He's such a deep sleeper; he's even worse than you! I called his name like 90 times and nothing! Zilch! Nada!"

I couldn't help but laugh as Emmett's exasperated face and he took that as his cue to start plotting different ways to wake Edward up.

"We could dump cold water on him, or we could slap him! Or… or… or… we could jump on his bed, or we could push him _off _his bed, or…!" he kept going on and on clearly excited.

"Em, why don't we try calling his name first?" I suggested.

"Fine! Ruin my fun, why don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and walked over to Edward's room with Emmett trailing behind me.

"Edward. Edwarddd. Hey Eddie!" I called trying to get him to wake up.

Em interrupted, "Well we tried. Now what do you want to do?"

"Hmm." I said as we started brainstorming. Suddenly I had a brilliant idea and I whispered it in Emmett's ear just in case Edward was awake and he was just pretending to be asleep.

Emmett clearly liked my idea because he cracked up and said, "That's amazing! That'll definitely wake him up!"

I smirked, proud of my genius idea, and fiddled with Edward's iPod to find the right song before I set it in his iHome and blasted the volume.

Suddenly music started blaring and all I could hear was, "_Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy. Got my glasses, I'm out the door. I'm gonna hit this city. Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack, cause when I leave for the night I ain't coming back."_

The music was interrupted by Edward's high pitched scream.

"AHHH!" he screamed as he jumped and fell out of the bed. At this, Em started rolling on the ground laughing and I was shaking where I was standing in my silent laughter. Edward growled and stomped out of the room causing both of us to laugh even harder.

When Em finally picked himself up off the ground we started to go downstairs.

"Man that was priceless."

I chuckled.

Em agreed, "I know right? Guess who I am. AHHHH!" He yelled the last part in a high-pitched voice causing both of us to start laughing again.

As we walked into the kitchen I smiled as I noticed Edward's scowl grow deeper and Carlisle's face brighten as he started smiling.

"Well sons, do you want to tell us why you're both laughing so hard and why Edward looks ready to kill you?"

At Carlisle's words I turned to look at Edward, and he did in fact look furious. I chuckled quietly as I looked at Emmett and waited for him to relay the story.

"Edward… Ke$ha…bed… fell…funny…face." Emmett tried saying, but he kept laughing in the middle making it impossible to understand him. I shook my head at him in shame before turning to face Carlisle and Esme.

"Well you know how Edward's a deep sleeper. Em and I were bored so we decided to wake him up so we could do something."

"You could have called my name!" Edward interrupted, sounding annoyed.

I rolled my eyes and continued, "We tried that around 20 times but it didn't work so I blasted 'Tik Tok' by Ke$ha and Edward screamed and jumped and fell out of his bed. It was so funny; the look on his face was priceless!"

By the time I was done, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and I were all laughing. I barely noticed Edward storm out of the room, Esme sighed but then got up and followed him out.

The three of us were still laughing when Esme finally came back in, followed by Edward. Esme said something to Carlisle and he tried to pull himself together so he could talk.

"Boys, that's enough. We have something to tell you." He started still laughing. "Your mother and I have decided to send you on a tour of Europe as a present for graduating college. Chief Swan's kids are joining you also." As soon as he said that I zoned out.

I could see that he was still talking but I was too busy trying to figure out where I had heard Chief Swan before. I racked my brain, but I came up with nothing. I would have to think about it later.

As I came back to the conversation at hand I heard Edward and Em yell, "Yess!" really loudly. Huh. I wonder what I missed.

"Well you boys should go eat lunch now and then you can go pack your stuff for the trip." Carlisle said.

The three of us nodded our heads in agreement before quietly getting something to eat. I fixed myself a simple sandwich and sat down to eat. We ate in silence and I'm pretty sure the other two were too busy thinking about the trip like I was to say anything.

After we were done, I thanked Carlisle & Esme before we all raced upstairs to pack our things. Apparently we were leaving on the 22nd which meant we had tomorrow to pack and then we left the day after. This should be fun.

I'm pretty sure Emmett was the most excited considering he kept doing the happy dance and I'm almost positive that any minute now the house was going to collapse. The three of us went to our rooms and got all of our clothes and met in the guest room where our suitcases were.

As we were packing Emmett asked, "Hey Jazz, we'll be back in time to start looking for jobs right?"

"Yea Em, we decided to start job hunting September 8th, remember?."

He looked confused, "Then why are we coming back so early?"

"The tour is over August 22nd."

"Bu-"he started, testing my patience.

"Emmett just shut the hell up and pack your stuff." I said exasperated.

In response he stuck his tongue out and went back to packing all of his stuff. After a while Edward said, "Hey do you guys know what countries we're going to so I know what to pack?"

Both of us shrugged not really caring and in response Edward rolled his eyes and went downstairs to ask Esme and Carlisle.

"Hmm, I wonder where we're going. All I know is that we're going to Europe." Em said suddenly.

"I know. Huh, hopefully we're going somewhere really cool."

As soon as I finished talking, I heard Edward calling for Em and I to come look at something. Both of us looked at each other confused but we went outside to see what Edward was so excited about.

When I saw the piece of paper all I could do was stare at it shocked, I distinctly heard Emmett screaming with joy and bounding down the stairs, most likely to hug Esme and Carlisle. Sure enough as soon as he went downstairs we heard screaming.

"Emmett McCarthy Cullen, hugging us to death is not the way to thank somebody for giving you a vacation!" Esme shrieked.

"Sorry mom, I forgot you and dad don't like those." Emmett said.

Edward mumbled, "They're not the only ones." And I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. Soon enough, Emmett came back up the stairs and we looked through the schedule again.

Schedule

June 22nd: Arrival in Belgium  
>Week 1: Belgium<br>Week 2: Germany  
>Week 3: Czech Republic<br>Week 4: France  
>Week 5: Italy<br>Week 6: Luxembourg  
>Week 7: Switzerland<br>Week 8: Holland  
>Week 9: Monte Carlo<br>August 22nd: Departure from Monte Carlo

We looked at each other and smiled. "This is a hell of a lot better than just sitting at home all summer long." Both of them nodded in agreement.

Emmett being Emmett said, "Hey, maybe we'll meet some pretty girls on the trip." Edward rolled his eyes and I shook my head.

"Oh please," I said. "If anybody gets a girl it will be me!"

"Not a chance, who would pass up this?" Edward asked pointing to himself. Yup, definitely conceited.

"No me!" Emmett said.

We kept going back and forth until I had a brilliant idea again. "How about we have a competition to see who can get the most girls' numbers by today night?"

Both of them looked at me clearly interested. Emmett asked, "Mall or club?"

We debated for a while before deciding we didn't really want to go to the mall. Besides, if we went to a bar we could celebrate going on vacation.

"Well who's the driver today?" Edward asked.

Em winked at me telling me to play along. In unison both of us said, "You."

He tried protesting but Emmett told him it was his turn and to shut up and stop whining like a 2 year old. Edward then tried pouting but it was a lost cause. There was only person who could get me to change my mind by pouting and he was definitely not her.

"Be ready in 10. It's already 7:30. Wow that went fast." I muttered. "Anyway, we'll leave in a little while so we can be there at 8. The competition ends at 12 and that's when we'll leave."

They both agreed so all of us left the guest room and went to our own bedrooms. I pulled on a pair of black jeans and a blue shirt that matched the color of my eyes. I tried to fix my hair, but it was a lost cause. Throughout the day I had been running my hands through my hair succeeding in creating a blonde mess on top of my head.

I went downstairs to wait for Emmett and Edward. Less than a minute later Em came running down the stairs. Now we just had to wait for Eddie. I swear he spent more time on his hair than most girls did. Finally 5 minutes later he walked down the stairs still trying to tame his wild bronze hair. We went to the kitchen and told Carlisle and Esme we were leaving.

"Be safe." Esme called. "Who's the designated driver today?"

"I am." Edward said.

"Alright, don't stay out too late."

"Kay." The three of us chorused.

Carlisle said, "Have fun boys. Bye."

It took me 10 minutes to get us there with my driving. Before we walked inside I tossed Edward my keys since he would be driving on the way back.

"There better not be as much as a scratch on my car Edward. If there is, so help me God…" I trailed off giving him a menacing glare. He actually looked kinda scared and he just nodded at me.

"Remember the competition." I told them as we walked inside.

As soon as I walked in I saw a pretty brunette at the other end of the bar. I walked towards her hoping she would help me win the competition. Right as I was walking up I saw her reach into her purse to get her money out. I put my hand on her arm to stop her before I pulled money out of my wallet.

"Now what kind of a man would I be if I let someone as pretty as you pay for your drink?" I asked rhetorically as I slipped the bartender 10 bucks.

She smirked at me before replying, "A normal one."

I leaned forward so my lips were almost grazing hers as I whispered, "Well it's a good thing I'm not normal."

As soon as I finished my sentence she was on top of me. Her lips were all over mine and she jammed her hands into my hair making it even messier than it already was. I pulled away slowly and smiled at her. I made up an excuse about how I had to leave, but she stopped me and handed me a piece a paper. I smiled at her and walked away before I read what was on it.

Nice! On the piece of paper was her name and number. I sat down at the opposite end of the bar and ordered a Jack & Coke while I waited to see someone interesting to talk to. The night went on and I flirted with a bunch of girls and I got almost all of their numbers.

By the end of the night I was exhausted and had drunk enough that I was still sober, but it would definitely cause me a headache tomorrow morning. Emmett on the other hand rarely got affected by alcohol but he looked tired too.

When I found him both of us went in search of Edward. "Come on Edward. It's 12, let's go."

He nodded and got up. The three of us walked back to the car in complete silence. As Edward got in the driver's seat Emmett ran to the front so he could ride shotgun. I rolled my eyes and got into the back.

I got in the car and I let my exhaustion overcome me. I was worn out from the events of the day and the sugar high from the alcohol had run out, effectively draining me of all my energy. My eyelids were drooping and I was fighting to try and keep them open. I had my head leaned back against the head rest and I was staring at the ceiling tiredly trying to will Edward to drive faster so I could get home to my comfy bed.

As soon as he pulled up I was out of the car, walking up to my room. As I walked I dragged my heavy feet behind me and tried to keep my eyes open so I wouldn't run into a wall.

"Night Jasper." "Good Night Jasper." I heard both of them call.

"Night guys." As soon as I got in my room I crashed onto my bed not bothering to change. The minute my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my head hurt like hell.

"Uggh." I groaned. "My head is in immense pain. I am in serious need of an Advil."

Edward replied cheerfully, "No problem!" I glared at his cheerfulness causing him to laugh before he went downstairs. Wait, why was Edward in my room?

"Ugghhh." I groaned again, while clutching my head in pain. As if on cue, Edward walked in with my water and Advil. After I downed the pill I turned to look at Edward.

"Thanks Edward. By the way do you know who won our competition?"

He mumbled the answer while staring at the floor and by now I was pretty certain I had won so I decided to tease him.

"What was that, I didn't hear you?"

"You." He mumbled again, a little louder this time.

"Sorry, still can't hear you. What was that?"

"I said you!" He all but yelled giving me an annoyed look.

"That's what I thought. Not so cheerful anymore, now are we?"

He huffed. "Whatever, I'm gonna go take a shower. See you later." As he left he made sure to stomp on the ground as he walked, making my head pound. I refused to show him how much that hurt so I settled for glaring at the back of the idiot's head. When I was sure my head wasn't about to explode I got up and went to take a shower in my bathroom.

After I was done I got out and changed into more comfortable clothes. As I was leaving my room I noticed that Edward was still in the bathroom. What a girl. I went downstairs to get some breakfast, I was starving. However eating proved to be impossible when I got downstairs and saw Emmett hogging all of the food.

I tried to steal something from him but he was too strong. My stomach growled loudly in protest and since I evidently couldn't eat I settled for trying to glare Emmett to death. My one-sided glaring competition was interrupted when I heard Edward laughing. I turned back to look at Emmett and he seemed to be done eating. Hallelujah!

I quickly grabbed some food before Emmett changed his mind. I sighed in relief when I finally got some food into my system. My headache was about gone and I almost cheered in joy. When we were done we had nothing to do and I was already bored.

"Well, what do you want to do?"

Em thought for a while before saying, "I don't know. Why don't we go somewhere?"

"Kay, cool. Where?" Edward asked.

"Let's go to the beach!" Emmett yelled excitedly.

"Yea! I think they're having fireworks there today night for some unknown reason."

All of us got our swimming trunks and of course Emmett being the little kid he is brought all of his stuff to build a sand castle. We took my black Lamborghini Murciélago after I inspected it to make sure Edward hadn't damaged it.

Mine was probably the best car of the three considering I was a car fanatic. Edward had a silver Volvo S60R. Em had a Jeep Wrangler but he wasn't allowed to drive that locally so for Forks he had a black Lamborghini Reventon.

When we got there I surprisingly really wanted to build a sand castle and so did Emmett, however Edward really wanted to swim. I pretended I wanted to swim too just because I wanted to hear Em beg.

"Just help me for 10 minutes and then you can swim. I promise! Please? Please? Pretty Please?" Em pleaded.

Finally both of us gave in; after all, it's not every day you see a 21 year old begging you to help him build a sand castle. When we were done the castle looked pretty damn impressive.

"Come on. We're swimming now. Jazz and I helped you with your sand castle now you have to swim." Edward said.

"Fine." Em said. I smiled at Edward and then we all ran to the water to swim. After a few hours, naturally Emmett got hungry.

"Hey, let's go somewhere really good for lunch." Em suggested.

"Kay. I'm gonna call Esme or Carlisle and let them know." I heard both of them say okay in response. After I got off the phone we looked around for some place good to eat. There was a diner nearby that looked like it had good food so we decided to eat there. The waitress at the diner shamelessly flirted with all three of us at the same time and it was kinda sad to watch. I found myself wishing B was here to scare the waitress off. I watched as she came back to take our orders.

"I'll have a triple cheeseburger with a large coke and a large fries." Em ordered.

"I'll have a hamburger with coke and fries please."

Lastly Edward ordered, "I'll take a chicken burger with sprite." The waitress nodded and said she'd be right back with all of the food. As we waited for our food we started talking about the trip to Europe.

"I can't believe we're going to Europe. This is going to be so much fun!"

"I know! Mom and dad are the best." Emmett agreed.

"Hey, why don't we do something to thank them?"

"That's a really good idea." Edward replied. "What can we do though?"

"I have an idea. I think today evening we should plan a dinner for both of them. We should cook it ourselves." Em suggested.

That was actually a really good idea. "I'm the only one that can cook, so I'll make the food and how about both of you guys send them somewhere while we're preparing and then decorate the house?"

"Good, I think that will work. Now we have to decide what to cook and how to distract them. Jazz, what do you cook the best?" Edward asked.

"Hmm. Pasta, lasagna, baked ziti, pasta, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, garlic bread, salad, cake, gelato…" I trailed off.

"Mom loves Italian so why don't we make an Italian meal? Can you make pasta, salad, garlic bread and gelato?" Em suggested.

"Sure. Not a problem."

"I think I know how we can distract them." Em said. "Mom and dad's favorite band is performing in Port A today. We can buy them the tickets and tell them to go. The show starts at 3 and ends at 5, so they'd have to leave at 1:50 and they'd be home at 6ish. That should be enough time for you to cook everything right Jazz?"

"Yup, I think this will work."

"Me too." Edward agreed. "It's 12:30 now, let's go get the tickets after we eat and then tell them to go. Oh and we have to remember to tell them not to eat dinner on the way because we want to eat with them before we leave tomorrow.

"Perfect."

"Sounds like a plan."

After we ate and bought the tickets we went home to tell Carlisle an Esme.

"Mom? Dad?" Em called as we walked inside.

"Yes Emmett." Esme replied.

"Where are you?"

"Kitchen."

"Kay." We called back as we made our way to the kitchen.

Once we were in Esme's line of view she started talking, "What is it?"

"We have something we want to give you as a thank you for sending us to Europe. We got you two tickets to your favorite band." Em said.

"The show is in Port Angeles and it starts at 3 and ends at 5 so you might want to hurry."

Edward finished with, "Have fun at the show and could you come home for dinner so we'll be able to have dinner with you before we leave tomorrow?"

By the time we were done Esme looked like she was going to cry. "Oh boys, this is too much. You know we don't expect anything in return."

"We know, but we wanted to thank you."

She called, "Carlisle! Come here, you won't believe this…" then she told Carlisle what she knew of our plans.

"Thank you. This means a lot to us, and we'll definitely be home for dinner." Carlisle said. "Come on Esme, let's go get ready."

They left the house around 1:45 and as soon as the car was out of sight the house erupted into a flurry of activity.

I immediately went into the kitchen and started cooking. I knew this would take the longest and I wanted to make sure it was done so Esme and Carlisle would be surprised when they got home. Emmett and Edward came into the kitchen repeatedly asking if I needed help and I kicked them both out. Em tried to steal some food but I made him leave before he ate all the food. Em and Edward left after a little while to buy decorations for the house. I heard Edward playing piano as Emmett was decorating and I figured he was recording his playing so we could listen during dinner.

By the time we were done with everything it was already 5:30 and they were due home any minute now. The three of us went upstairs to change into better clothes. I sped downstairs once I was changed to go put some finishing touches on the food.

At 6:15 Esme and Carlisle returned and I noticed the exact moment Esme saw the decorations because of her audible gasp.

"This looks absolutely beautiful!" Esme exclaimed.

I heard Emmett and Edward chorus, "Thanks mom!" and I chuckled quietly from inside the kitchen.

I brought out the food and set it down on the table right as everyone was starting to sit down. Edward went to go play the CD he had made and it sounded really good. We finished dinner around 10:30 and we all went upstairs to our separate rooms. The plane left at 8:30 am tomorrow so we would have to be at the airport around 5:30. We would arrive in Belgium at 5:30 am the next day Belgium time. I couldn't wait till we left, I was going to miss both Carlisle and Esme but I really wanted to see Europe. I had a really good feeling about this trip; I couldn't describe it but I felt like it was going to change my life in a good way.

**A/N: So, opinions? R&R! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you like it. Leave me reviews please (: **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga. **

It's official. Edward = dumbass. I was so happy today morning when I woke up but it took so long for the idiot to get up; he just refused to get out of the damn bed. Dumbass, he was such a deep sleeper. Admittedly, it had its benefits like yesterday. I started smiling just thinking about him jumping and falling out of his bed.

"What are you smiling about Jasper?" Edward asked.

Now was my turn for revenge. "Oh nothing. I was just remembering you jumping and falling out of your bed yesterday morning." I said with a smug smile.

He scowled in response and glared at me. I laughed loudly and I heard Emmett join in. He's never gonna live that down. Wow, it had been a while since I was last this happy. I missed B so much, she was the only that could always make me laugh. I really wanted to see her again.

I shook my head to clear my train of thought and I realized that we were almost at the airport. It was 5:20 and we should be there in about 5 minutes with the way I drove. I was going to miss my car, it was my baby. We walked in the airport soon after I found a place to park. It was almost time for goodbyes and Esme looked like she was going to cry. I was really going to miss her and Carlisle.

"_**Security checks for American Airlines flight 267 will start now. Security checks for American Airlines flight 267 will start now. Thank you."**_

"Well that's our cue." I said. "We have to go. We'll call you as soon as we land; I love you." I finished as I was hugging them. As I pulled away from Esme I noticed the tears streaming down her face.

"Come on mom, don't cry. I know you're going to miss my amazing hugs but we'll be back soon." Em said. He succeeded in making all of us laugh and I noticed the relieved look that showed on his face when Esme started laughing too. He really was a good guy; he just looked scary.

"Bye mom, bye dad." Edward called as we made our way to the security check-in area.

After I was done with the security check I waited for the other two to finish up. I couldn't help my smile as the security guards requested to check Emmett again more than likely because he looked threatening. I could tell he was getting annoyed that this happened to him every time but it was hilarious.

"Sir, can you please step to the side for a security check?" The officer asked.

Emmett mumbled, "Yes. Hold on." Then he gave us his suitcases and followed the officer glaring at him the whole time. Man, if looks could kill…

Edward and I made our way to the boarding area laughing as we walked. "How mad do you think he's going to be this time?" Edward asked.

I thought as I plopped into my seat, "5 bucks that he's going to want to punch the guy."

Edward debated before sticking out his hand. "Deal."

About 10 minutes later I saw Emmett making his way over to where we were sitting. "I can't believe they pulled me over again! I should have punched the guy in the face." He grumbled.

I laughed loudly glad that I had won. "Em, if you had punched him they would have thought for sure that you were a terrorist."

I turned around to Edward and stuck my hand out with a smirk on my face. He rolled his eyes as he dug the money out of his pocket but I could see the smile on his face. "Here's your money."

"Thank you."

"Hey, where's my money?" Em asked.

"Sorry man, he won the bet, you didn't."

"What bet?" Emmett asked warily.

"I bet him 5 bucks that when you came back from your security check you would want to punch the officer and I was right."

"Ohhh." He said. "That guy was really annoying."

"I'm sure he was Em."

We sat there the rest of the time we were waiting for the plane talking and laughing. I was trying really hard not to let my anxiety about the trip show. I was deathly afraid of planes but Em and Edward didn't know that and I would like to keep it that way. Apparently, acting is not in my future though.

Edward turned to look at me, confusion evident on his face." "Hey, are you alright? You look really pale."

"Yea, I'm fine. I'm just hungry and tired. I'll be fine."

He didn't look convinced but he let it go and went back to his conversation with Emmett. Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the one thing I had been dreading.

"_**All passengers traveling on American Airlines flight 267 may begin boarding now. All passengers traveling on American Airlines flight 267 may begin boarding now. Thank you."**_

It was time for us to board the plane. I got on the plane trying really hard not to think about the plane ride that was coming up. I made sure I sat on the aisle seat because there was absolutely no way I could handle watching the plane takeoff and then watch us fly through the air. About 20 minutes later I felt us takeoff and I kept my eyes tightly shut throughout the whole thing.

_**"On behalf of the entire crew here today as well as myself, we thank you for traveling on American Airlines this afternoon. We should be reaching our destination at approximately 5:45 am Belgium time so the flight time will be about seven and a half hours. There will be a short safety video that will play on the screens projected on the seat in front of you; we recommend that you watch it. Thank you again and please enjoy your flight."**_

7 ½ hours to go. Ugh. I don't know if I could stand being on this plane that long. Plane rides were always so boring and I never had anything to do. The safety video started playing and I stared at the seat in front of me resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the redundant video.

"_**Thank you for your cooperation, we will be taking off soon. Please remain seated with your seat belts on and all electronic devices off. Make sure your seats are in an upright position and that you tray holders are stored properly. When the seatbelt light turns off you may take off your seatbelt and at that time you may get up. Until then please remain seated. Thank you. We are pleased to have you travelling with us today and hope to see you again in the future."**_

I wonder how many times these people had to say the same thing again and again. I mean it seemed like a pretty cool job overall but saying the same thing day after day after day… well that would seriously grate on my nerves.

This trip was going to be fun; I just knew it. The only way it could be better would be if B was on this trip with me. I smiled just thinking about her. I missed her so much. I missed her gorgeous mahogany hair that always flew everywhere. I missed her beautiful chocolate brown eyes that always showed exactly what she was thinking. I missed the way she would laugh without abandon when I did something she deemed funny. I missed how she could always make me smile. But most of all, I missed the way that I could trust her with anything.

I internally winced as I thought of how angry she would be if she found out that I had started smoking again. Maybe I could just not tell her? No, that would be probably be even worse. The last time I hid something from her and she found out later she punched me in the face, hard. I would just have to grovel for the rest of my life. Wow, it's been a really long time since I last saw her. Hopefully I'll see her again and soon.

Soon enough, I got bored of just sitting there and thinking so I flipped through all the movies they had but there was absolutely nothing interesting. Well, I might as well catch up on lost sleep. At least that way I won't be dead tired when we land in Belgium.

I felt Edward shaking me awake and telling that we landed. Huh, I can't believe I slept through the entire ride. I still can't believe that we're actually here; I've always wanted to come to Europe. I owe Carlisle and Esme so much for sending us here.

We got off the plane and went to baggage claim. Edward and I went to go get our suitcases; we made Emmett stay where he was. Last time he tried to get a suitcase of the conveyor belt he pulled on the handle too hard and ripped it right off.

After we got all our suitcases we hailed a cab and told him to go to the Holiday Inn. The whole ride to the hotel, I was staring out the window in awe. It was so beautiful outside and this definitely wasn't Forks, Washington.

When we got to the hotel, I saw Edward stop and stare at something. I turned around hoping to see what he was staring at. I followed his gaze to a stunning blonde but she wasn't his type; she looked like Emmett's type though. Beside her was a short girl with black spiky hair who was probably who Edward was staring at. Next to her was another girl and I turned my head to see who it was. No… no, it couldn't be. There was just no possible way.

"B?" I called out cautiously but still excited. I felt Edward and Emmett look at me curiously but I was too busy staring at the beautiful brunette who had turned her head in my direction. Her eyes were confused yet excited as they swept the room and then her face brightened when she finally saw me. She dropped her bags in shock at the same time I did.

"J?" she called before she ran into my waiting arms. I picked her up hugging her, laughing with joy the whole time. I couldn't believe she was actually here; I was just thinking about how great it would be if she was here and now she is.

"Jazz, I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much." She whispered.

"Neither can I darlin', but I'm glad you're here. I've missed you too; so, so much."

I felt everyone staring at us and I decided now would probably be a good time to put her back on the ground. I unhooked her arms that were around my neck and her legs that were tightly wrapped around my waist. Even though I put her on the ground, I didn't want to let go of her yet, I wrapped my arm tightly around her waist and pulled her close to me. She could feel how uncomfortable I was that everyone was staring at us and she started laughing. When I glared at her she simply rolled her eyes before she started talking.

"J, this is Alice," she said pointing to the small pixie-like girl, "and this is Rosalie." She said pointing to the tall blonde. "Ali, Rose this is Jasper."

"Nice to meet you both." I said and they nodded their heads in acknowledgement before saying the same. I finally let go of Bella to introduce her to the other two. "This is Edward, and this is Emmett." I said pointing to both of them as I introduced them. "Em, Edward, this is Bella." She smiled at the both of them in response.

Suddenly I felt my pocket vibrate and I pulled it out and saw that Esme was calling. Right, I promised to call her when we landed. My bad.

"Hello Esme." I said in response to Bella's questioning look. The minute I said Esme her face seemed to brighten.

"_Jasper are you forgetting something?"_

"Sorry I forgot to call. I was… uh… preoccupied." I said looking straight at Bella.

I heard her laugh at the other end. _"I'm guessing you've seen Bella then?"_

My jaw dropped open as I said in shock, "You know?"

"_Honey, of course I know, I planned it. I just wish I was there to see your reaction right now."_

"Wha… bu… how?" I asked, my mouth still gaping open. Bella's excitement eventually got the better of her and she grabbed my phone, giggling at the still shocked look on my face.

"Hi Esme."

**.**

.

"Yep, he looks shocked. It's pretty funny." She said laughing softly.

**.**

.

"Of course." She said before taking a picture of me with the phone.  
><strong>.<strong>

.

Whatever Esme had said to her caused her to laugh loudly, effectively snapping me out of my daze. I narrowed my eyes at her but she just shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I'll talk to you later Esme." She said before walking over to Edward and handing him the phone. When he took the phone he walked outside as he started talking. As soon as he left I turned to Bella, glaring at her.

She walked up to me, fighting a smile. "Esme says you look like a dying fish."

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying not to smile. "I do not!"

"Yes you do Jazz."

"I do not! Take that back!" I said as I tickled her, trying to make her say the words I wanted. Her laughs were interrupted by a throat clearing behind us. I immediately stilled my actions as I looked up with an embarrassed expression on my face.

I saw three amused faces looking back at me and I put some space between Bella and I, trying to get the attention off of us. I noticed Bella stifling her laughs and if I wasn't trying to avoid eye contact I would have glared at her.

"Dude, you realize we're in the lobby of a hotel right?"

"Yes Emmett. Thanks for reminding me." I snapped.

He chuckled, "Geez, chill man."

I rolled my eyes and continued staring at the ground, only looking back up when I heard Bella talk.

"Well, we're going to head to our room. See you guys later, bye J." she said.

"Bella?" I called as she walked away.

"Uh-huh?"

"What room are you guys in?" Of course as soon as I asked I saw her smirk happily.

"Why Jazz, can't wait to see me?"

"No I was asking so I could come to your room and hurt you." I said sarcastically. Following immediately after my words I head three sharp intakes of breath and I looked at the girls confused. Alice and Rosalie both gave me identical looks of disgust before they looked at Bella, concerned. Bella was extremely pale and looked like she had just seen a ghost.

She drew in a shaky breath as she said, "Very funny. Room 352."

"Can we talk…later?" I asked, officially confused.

"Sure. Come to our room whenever. Not like I need to tell you that." She said, smirking.

"Don't worry I will." I said with an identical smirk on my face not bothering to acknowledge the second part of her sentence.

I heard her laugh in response and then she turned around and started to walk back with her sisters. She had her head facing the ground and both Alice and Rosalie looked like they were trying to comfort her. I called her to ask what was going on.

"Bella," she turned around and looked at me, causing me to chicken out at the last moment. I walked to her and hugged her. "I love you." I whispered so nobody else could hear.

I was rewarded with a small smile as she said, "I love you too, Jasper."

Then she turned around and kept walking. I watched them leave with a smile on my face. Suddenly, I heard Bella call my name. I noticed that she was standing with one foot in the elevator and the other on the tile floor of the lobby. She smirked as she said, "You do look like a dying fish." before she laughed loudly and quickly got into the elevator.

"Hey!" I called loudly before mumbling to myself. "I do not."

I heard Edward and Emmett laughing from behind me and I turned around to look at them. They stood watching me in silence as I made my way over to them,

"Dude, why the hell didn't you tell us you had such a hot, funny girlfriend?" Emmett asked.

The fury I felt following his simple question was unimaginable. "She is not my girlfriend, she is my best friend and she is like my sister! Besides, she has a boyfriend!" I managed to grit out between clenched teeth.

Emmett looked at me shocked by my little outburst; probably because I rarely ever got angry and I don't think I had ever been mad at him before.

"Okay, chill man." He said putting his hands up in surrender. "Let's go check in so we can go upstairs. There's three hot girls waiting for us; well mainly for Jasper, but still."

Edward and I both laughed. Well Emmett will be Emmett. The three of us made our way to the front desk; pausing so I could pick up my bags that I had dropped haphazardly before.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The receptionist Dave asked when we got to the front desk.

"We would like to check in."

"Yes sir, may I know your names?"

"I'm Jasper Cullen and those two are Emmett and Edward Cullen. The three of us are sharing a room but I don't know whose name Esme booked it under."

"Okay sir, I will check all of your names in the computer." He said as he started rapidly typing. "Ah, here it is. Mr. Jasper Cullen?" he asked only looking back down at the computer when I nodded in affirmation. "Okay, I'm going to need you to sign here." He said as he pointed to a spot on a piece of paper that just seemed to magically appear out of nowhere.

I took the paper and signed my name after quickly reading through it. As I handed it back to him he said, "Thank you sir. You'll be in room 356. Hope you have a good day." He handed me the key cards and the three of us began walking away.

"Room 356? Well that's close to the girl's room right?" Emmett asked, voicing my internal thoughts.

"Yup. They're in room 352." I said and I couldn't help the huge grin that spread across my face when I was done talking.

When we got to the elevator Emmett jammed the 3rd floor button as quickly as he could so neither Edward nor I could press it. I shook my head at him. He was such a kid sometimes but that's why he was so funny.

"Hey Jazz, how do you know Bella?" Edward asked.

"I met her when I lived in Phoenix." I said, smiling as I thought of all the shit we had gotten into; mainly because of her.

But then again, with one of her dimpled grins and a look at her wide brown eyes; all the parents let us get away with it too.

"Ohhh, okay." They both said in unison.

We got out of the elevator and made our way down the long hallway to our room. As we passed Bella's room I ignored the urge to knock on her door and run away like a little kid.

The minute I got into the room I was going through my suitcase looking for something comfortable to wear. I settled for a pair of grey plaid flannel pajama pants and a dark grey shirt. It may be 8:30 in the morning but I wasn't ready to face the morning yet.

When I was done changing I went into a bathroom and splashed my face with ice cold water. We had been up for a while and that was really weird considering it was only 8:30 in the morning. After I washed my face I felt a lot better and more refreshed. I walked back to the main room and I saw that only Emmett was there.

I took the time waiting for Edward to survey the room. Man, it was really nice. There were four small-ish bedrooms that each had their own bathroom, and then there was a living room type thing and a kitchen. It was like a mini apartment in here.

10 minutes later, Edward finally came back out and we sat around talking for a while.

"You know, I think I might like Rosalie," Em started. "She seems exactly my type and it helps that she's a tall, hot blonde too." He said causing me to chuckle.

"Em, you don't know anything about her."

He rolled his eyes at me. "I know that Jazz, but there's just something about her. I just know, trust me on this."

I held back the urge to roll my eyes at him; I understood what he was saying but he had said the same thing so many times. He had a habit of falling in and out of love quickly. However, he seemed more serious about Rosalie than I had ever seen him about any of the other girls.

"How about you Edward, see anyone you like?" Emmett asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Edward suggestively.

He rolled his eyes and smiled before he replied, "Well, I don't _like _any of them but I definitely want to get to know them better. Who knows, maybe I'll even fall in love with one of them!" He said in a carefree attitude.

That clearly wasn't the kind of answer Emmett wanted so he turned to me. "Well how about you Jasper?" He asked hopefully.

"I love Bella." I said simply causing both of their jaws to fall open. I laughed at the looks of shock on their faces before continuing with what I was going to say. "She's like my sister; the other two, well I know nothing about them but they don't really seem like my type." I finished shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.

I heard Emmett mutter something that sounded like, "Like my sister? Yea right, he really needs to open his eyes." I was going to ask him what he was muttering about but then decided against it. It was more than likely that I probably didn't want to know what he was going on about.

I turned to Edward instead hoping for a normal reaction to what I just said. Instead I found a skeptical look and what looked like disbelief on his face. What the hell is up with those two? First Emmett's excited and Edward's carefree and now Emmett seems angry and Edward's disbelieving.

Eventually I couldn't take anymore of the looks Edward was giving me or Emmett's incoherent mumbling. "What?" I asked, thoroughly confused and a tad bit pissed off.

"Well, you clearly-"Emmett started only to be interrupted by Edward talking loudly over him.

"Nothing, we're just thinking. Nothing you have to worry about."

Now it was my turn to be disbelieving. I just looked back at him, raising one eyebrow to show him that I thought everything he said was B.S. However, when I was met with a cool stare from him I knew I would get nothing more out of him. I sighed loudly; I wish he would have just let Em finish his sentence.

I rolled my eyes at them before getting out of my chair. "Whatever, let's just go to their room. I want to talk to Bella."

After my sentence Em and Edward shared a look and I couldn't help how annoyed I was. "What?" I asked once again; pulling on my hair for emphasis.

"Nothing." They chorused and I almost growled out loud in annoyance.

"Well, let's go then!"

"Alrighty then, let's roll!" Emmett said cheerfully.

"Roll?" Edward asked him, effectively echoing my inner thoughts.

"Yes, as in let's get going stupid head."

I laughed quietly at the exchange between the two of them. I swiped the key card off of the counter before I walked over and opened the door as I waited for the two of them to leave the hotel room. When both of them walked out I pulled the door closed, checking it again to make sure it was locked.

Once I was positive nobody was going to break in we walked in silence down the hallway to their rooms. When we got close to the door I raised my hand to knock but it was left open a crack. I turned around to look at the other two confused and I was met with one knowing look and one look that clearly said _duh._

"It's obviously open because she was waiting for you to get here. I swear for someone so smart, you can be so stupid." Emmett said, explaining his _duh _look and Edward's knowing look from earlier.

I rolled my eyes at the both of them before I turned around and went to open the door again. When I got it open the three of us walked into the main room; it was set up the same way as our hotel room.

When nobody was there we looked around the rest of the rooms trying to find them. I checked the first room and found nobody there. I checked the second and third rooms and came up with nobody there either. All I saw were suitcases lying everywhere. When I got to the fourth room, I threw the door open when nobody answered my knock and what I saw when the door opened shocked the living hell out of me.

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks so much for the favorite stories, favorite authors, story alerts and author alerts. Can you guys please review cause this is my first time writing and I would really appreciate feedback - good or bad. Let me know what you think please (: **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys. Well this is Chapter 3. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga.**

* * *

><p><strong>JPOV:<strong>

Bella was tossing and turning on the bed and as she moved, the comforters got even more twisted due to her death grip on them. She had tears streaming down her face and all I heard before I panicked was her crying out in agony, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" over and over again.

I was next to her before I even registered that I was moving. My hands automatically went around her shoulders in a hug and I shook her desperately trying to shake her awake. "Wake up Bella! Please, come on! It's just a dream. I'm here, you're safe; please wake up!" I chanted quietly in her ear over and over again.

She woke with a start and she jerked up, out of my arms leaving me shocked and hurt. She had never bolted when I hugged her and no matter what I couldn't get rid of the image in my head of how disgusted she had been when she woke up and saw me.

She turned around to look at me and her jaw dropped open in shock as she quickly made her way back into my arms. "Shit, I'm so sorry J. I wasn't thinking; I don't why I did that. I'm so sorry."

I wanted to believe her but the look of sheer disgust on her face definitely wasn't accidental. I tried to rearrange my facial expression to make myself look happy so she would think I believed her but she knew me better than that.

She sighed and due to the fact that she was standing and I was sitting she was taller than me. She leant down so her mouth was by my ear. "It wasn't you Jazz, I promise. I'll explain later."

Now I was confused but I did feel a little better so I nodded and let go of her so she could move away from me. After all, everyone was watching us.

"B, what was the screaming about?" I questioned; confused.

"Nothing, it's not important. What do you guys want to do now?" She said nonchalantly.

"Bull shit! That is defi-"The look of complete pain she shot me was enough to make me shut up.

"Never mind." I muttered to myself, never wanting to see her in that much pain again. I would be asking her about it later though, probably when we were alone. At my words, Emmett and Edward turned to look at me; identical, incredulous expressions on their faces.

Finally, Emmett seemed to decide that he had had enough. "What the hell just ha-"he started only to be cut off by the sharp glare I gave him. I motioned silently that I would explain later and he nodded somewhat reluctantly.

"Well, while you guys are here why don't I introduce you guys to Rose and Ali?" Bella suggested. When the three of us nodded in agreement she started talking again.

"Okay so the little pixie is Alice and she loves shopping, shopping and… oh shopping!" This caused all of us to laugh and earned her a playful glare from Alice. "She loves games of all kind, she's extremely energetic, loves mini golf, playing _Bella Barbie,_ her car and she's much stronger than she looks. Don't mess with the pixie." She finished ominously.

Then she moved so she was next to the blonde one; Rosalie I think. Rosalie seemed kind of… protectiveof Bella in a way. Huh. "Goldilocks over here is Rosalie but you can call her Rose. Her most prized possession is her car and she absolutely loves all cars. She's the best mechanic ever. Other than that, she loves shopping, traveling, mini golf, car shows and dancing. Oh and don't call her a dumb blonde unless you have a death wish."

I smiled at both Rose and Alice before moving so I was next to Em and Edward. "Now it's my turn to introduce these two." I said and I saw the three of them smile in response.

"This human garbage disposal is Emmet." I said earning a few laughs and a shrug of acknowledgement from Emmett. "He loves eating, cars, eating, traveling, eating, watching movies, eating, having fun, and most importantly eating. He also loves playing truth or dare, building sand castles, talking, dancing, singing, car shows, football and practical jokes." After I finished I saw Bella's eyes light up. I knew they would get along.

Then I pointed to Edward. "The bronze-haired one is Edward. He likes playing the piano, listening to music, sucking up to parents, helping out at the hospital, his car, movies, having fun and football. Oh, and he can't cook to save his life." At the end of my sentence I saw Edward glare at me.

Everyone else started laughing and I saw Bella's eyes light up before she turned to look at me. I gave her my best questioning look causing her to reply, "Dad said that there was something waiting for us outside and that we should go look at immediately. Do you want to go downstairs to find out what it is?"

I smiled at her before saying, "Well, we have to do what the Chief wants."

The three girls laughed loudly and Emmett and Edward just gave me blank looks before Emmett finally gave up. "Well, come on then! Let's go!" He said with his unending enthusiasm causing all of us to smile and follow him out the door.

When we got the door, Em basically sprinted to the elevator and he jabbed the down button about 10 times smiling proudly when the rest of us got there. I shook my head at him before walking into the elevator once it opened.

"Any idea what it is?" I asked B, hoping for a clue of some sort.

She shook her head vigorously hitting me in the face with her hair causing me to move my head back automatically. When she saw my reaction she grinned widely, "I'm sorry J, did that bother you?" she asked with an unapologetic expression on her face.

I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "No." knowing that if I said yes she'd probably do it again. She smiled proudly at me causing me to narrow my eyes at her.

We finally got the lobby and all 6 of us ran out of the elevator like bats out of hell. Everyone in the lobby stared at us probably wondering why 6 grown people were running out the hotel like their lives depended on it.

When we got outside the hotel the three girls started screaming in joy and the three of us stood frozen in our spots with our jaw hanging open.

There stood, gleaming in the sunlight, a midnight blue Bugatti Veyron, a red Ultimate Aero EV, and a canary yellow Porsche 911 Turbo. I knew immediately which one was Bella's and I was pretty sure that I could guess what car the other two had.

I broke out of my stupor when I heard Bella screaming excitedly again and running at some undistinguishable figure far away. As he walked closer I noticed that it was Seth, B's boyfriend, and probably the closest a guy came to being worthy of her.

She ran at him and hugged him tightly causing him to laugh before he hugged her back, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist. I felt a pang of something unfamiliar in my chest when I saw them kiss and I decided to think about it later when I was by myself.

When Bella and Seth finally let go of the other I walked forwards with a smirk on my face. "Hey Seth."

He looked up with a confused look on his face before his eyes finally landed on me, causing a smile to stretch across his face. "Jasper." He said as he walked up to me so we could do our super secret handshake, which was really just us doing random things we thought of.

"How do you…" Em started before trailing off looking at us expectantly.

Bella, Seth and I grinned at each other before loudly saying, "Phoenix."

"Ahh." He said before looking at Edward and raising his eyebrows questioningly. Those two were up to something, I could tell.

"Anyway, B when were you planning on tell me that you got your dream car?" I asked narrowing my eyes at her.

She smiled cheekily at me. "Guess what Jasper?"

I looked at her warily pretty sure that I already knew what was going on. "What Bella?"

"I got my car." She said, trying to look serious but failing as the corners of her lips turned up and her eyes lit up.

I muttered quietly to myself. "You think she would have gotten less sarcastic over time."

She smirked proudly. "I get it from you J."

I gave her my best glare. "Well, you can repay me by driving me around today." I said hopefully, managing to turn my statement into a question.

She smiled at me. "Well duh, I wasn't going to go by myself Jazz."

"Jazz?" Edward asked confused, echoing Emmett's confused look.

Bella looked at him like he was crazy. "Yea, Jazz."

"Like jazz music?" He asked making me realize that he had no idea what B was talking about.

"No Jazz as in Jasper. That's what I call him."

"Ohhh." Edward and Emmett said at the same time, they could be really annoying sometimes. They seemed to always know what the other was thinking.

"Well Bella, are you going to introduce us?" Seth asked nudging Bella in the shoulder with a small smile on his face.

"Well this one's Emmett and he apparently likes eating and pranks, and that one's Edward who likes to play the piano and play football." She said pointing to both of them as she spoke. "Both of them are Jasper's brothers." She said as her eyes locked with mine, only moving on when I shot her a small smile.

"Bellaaa! Now you have to introduce us!" Emmett said loudly causing Seth to laugh at his excitement.

She rolled her eyes as she shoved Seth to get him to shut up. "Well, the idiot laughing over here is my boyfriend Seth. He still lives in Phoenix so I haven't seen him in a while."

Emmett nodded, seeming satisfied with the response that Bella had given him. "Cool. Well, I'm going to head back to the hotel room and sleep anyone else coming?"

Edward nodded his head and stepped forward so he was standing next to Emmett. Seth kissed Bella on the cheek before pulling away and walking forward. "I'll see you later Bell, I wanna go check out my room."

She nodded in agreement and she looked like she was about to say something but before she could Rosalie and Alice pulled her to the side and I noticed them talking quietly amongst themselves about something that seemed important.

I turned away from them and looked awkwardly at the other four. "So… nice weather." I said trying to break the silence.

"It's beautiful." Seth said as he smirked at me. After that, we just stood there quietly waiting for the three girls to come back.

"Sorry about that." Bella said. "Anyways, I'm not that tired I want to look around a little; you coming Jazz?"

I nodded slightly still a little confused about what was going on. "Let me go change into normal clothes." I said, looking down at my pajama pants in response.

"Alright, I'll wait out here for you." She said easily, like she actually expected me to agree with her.

It looked like Alice was going to say something but I wasn't really paying attention. "You are definitely not waiting outside a hotel in a foreign country, at 9 in the morning all by yourself. You are going to go to your room and then I'll come there when I'm done." I said, bewildered that she actually thought I would let her stand outside.

She looked at me defiantly and I knew she was about to protest so I added quickly, "Please B." I gave her my best 'It would make me feel better' look and she sighed before walking into the hotel with the rest of us.

"Thanks Bella." I said smiling as I threw my arm and her shoulders. She smiled up at me before wrapping her arm around my waist as we walked to the elevators.

We talked and laughed on the walk back to the elevator and when we got there I noticed that they each had a different expression on their face, but they were all extremely confusing. Seth looked sad but accepting, Rose looked happy but worried, Alice was happy and Em and Edward were both smug and all-knowing.

"What?" Bella asked, apparently as confused as I was.

They all shook their heads quickly as they rearranged their facial expressions so it was neutral. I rolled my eyes at them before walking into the elevator that had just opened.

"Are you guys coming with us?" I asked Rosalie and Alice, since they were the only two that hadn't said anything.

I saw them share a look with Bella before Rose responded. "No, we're going to stay here and unpack some of our stuff."

I nodded in understanding as I tried to contain my excitement. I would finally be able to spend time with B. Don't get me wrong I loved Emmett and Edward and the others were fun to hang out with but I hadn't seen Bella in a while and I was excited.

When the elevator opened up to our floor we all got off and walked quietly, all of us lost in our thoughts.

"Hey Seth, what room are you in?" Bella asked.

"Uh, room 320." He said as he stopped in front of his room. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye Seth." All of us said in unison.

He laughed and waved at us as he disappeared into his room. "What time will you guys be back?" Emmett asked, looking at us expectantly.

"Uhm," I started looking at Bella. "We'll probably be back in a few hours, why?"

He shrugged before looking at Edward once again and if the three girls weren't there I'm pretty sure I would have started yelling at them out of frustration. I would have to remember to ask them what the hell all the secretiveness was about later.

We got to Bella's room and I took my arm off of her shoulders, "I'll be back in about 10 minutes. Don't do anything stupid." I said smiling.

She rolled her eyes before responding sarcastically, "Me? Do something stupid? Don't be ridiculous Jasper."

I laughed at her as I walked away with a smile on my face; it's been a while since I've laughed this much and I've only been here for an hour. Man I'm glad that Bella's here.

We got to the hotel room and I literally ran into the room my suitcase was in and rummaged through my suitcase looking for something suitable to go outside in. I finally found a plain white V-neck and blue jeans and a pair of beat-up converse that I always wore.

I quickly changed into them and went to the mirror trying to find a way to tame my hair, after 1 minute I gave up deciding that it wasn't going to get any better. When I was done, I ran to the door only stopping when I heard Emmett and Edward laughing loudly behind me.

I turned and slowly walked back into the main part of the room. "What?" I asked, confused, when I saw them still laughing.

Edward stopped laughing long enough to give me an answer. "Dude, you ran into your room to go get changed and then ran back out when you were done. You realize that it's only been 3 minutes and you told Bella that it would take you 10?"

"Someone's excited!" Emmett sang excitedly as I stood there embarrassed as I felt a blush creep up my neck and color my cheeks.

"Well I haven't seen her in a while; obviously I'm excited to be able to hang out with her." I said defensively.

Emmett just shook his head, "Sure sure. Now stop wasting your time and go to their room!" He said and that's all it took for me to race out the room again.

I ran down the hallway to their room before slowing down just before it so I wouldn't look like I'd been running. I raised my hand to knock and the second my fist hit the door, the door flung open revealing an impatient Bella.

"Well, someone's happy to see me." I teased as I smiled at her.

She smirked at me. "I'm not the one that came running down the hallway."

My jaw fell open, "Wha…how?"

"Your hair's worse than it was before, you look just as impatient as me and it took you 5 minutes to get here when you said 10." She said looking proud of herself.

I shook my head in shame. "Fine, so I was excited too. Geez, let's go."

She walked out the door into the hallway. "Bye guys, I'll be back later!" She called back to Rose and Alice.

"Bye Bella!" I heard from both of them. As soon as the door shut behind us I pulled Bella close to me as I hugged her softly.

"It's been so long since I've seen you." I said quietly looking straight into her eyes.

"I know Jazz, never again I promise." She said as she leant up on her tiptoes to I kiss me on the cheek.

I let her go and settled for wrapping my arm around her waist as we walked to the elevator. "So J, where do you want to go today?" she asked.

I thought about it and I had no clue until I saw the excited gleam in her eyes. "You pick today, I don't have any ideas." I was rewarded when I saw her eyes light up and she looked at me happily.

"Really? I can pick, are you sure?" she asked, not succeeding in hiding her excitement.

I laughed at her quietly. "Really, I'm positive."

"Thanks Jasper!" she said happily as we got into the elevator. I knew her mind was running wild with ideas when she didn't say anything the whole way to her car. She was so out of it that she almost ran into some random guy in the parking lot.

I pulled her out of his way right in time and she seemed to jerk back into reality. "Oh shit, sorry I didn't see you." She apologized quickly to the guy.

He winked at her, "Why don't you come to dinner with me and you can make it up to me?"

The anger I felt at him was indescribable. I pulled Bella into my side and she wrapped her arm around my waist trying to calm me down. "How about you leave her alone and I'll take her to dinner to make it up to her that she had to talk to you?"

He rolled his eyes, completely ignoring me. "Find me when you get tired of your boyfriend."

"Don't hold your breath; I'll never get tired of Jasper." She called out behind him as she pulled me to the car.

I turned around and smirked at him as we were walking away, feeling sufficiently proud that he wouldn't bother us anymore.

"Jazz, stop smirking." She said without turning around as she got into the driver's seat.

I pouted as I got into the passenger's side, "He was annoying."

She started laughing as she turned to face me. "Why was he so annoying J?"

I looked at her dumbfounded. "Why? Let's see; he winked at you, he asked you to dinner, he ignored me…" I said before she interrupted you.

"Yea, but why did that annoy _you_? He was talking to me." She asked seriously and I knew I had to fix this problem.

"Isabella Marie Swan; if you think that I'm going to let people talk to you like that you don't know me at all and I know that's not true. You would have never asked me that ridiculous question 2 years ago." I said giving her a pointed look which caused her to turn away from me.

I put my hand under her chin and turned her so she was facing me. The sadness in her eyes almost caused me to fall backwards with their intensity.

"B, what happened?" I asked softly.

She turned away from me and wiped her eyes to keep the tears from falling, "Nothing J, it's not a big deal."

I bit my tongue to keep myself from asking her again; it hurt that she didn't trust me enough to tell me now but I would wait. I turned so I was looking out the window knowing that if I saw her crying I would do something stupid.

She put the car into park and pulled out of the parking lot; the quietness in the car was tainted with sadness, confusion, pain and hurt and it bothered me that this was ruining our time together.

I turned back towards her and I noticed that there will still tears streaming down her face so I decided to take matters into my own hands; literally. I leaned over and took one of her hands off the steering wheel and placed it on my knee with my hand covering it. She looked over and gave me a small smile but that wasn't enough.

"Come on Bella, I know you're jealous of my amazing dance moves but you don't have to cry." I teased.

I heard her laugh resonate throughout the car and I couldn't help the huge smile that stretched across her face. She smiled as her eyes lit up with the familiar happiness and I was so happy that I had been the one to put it back there.

I smiled happily when she turned to look at me and we drove in silence for a while, both of us much happier this time.

"Hey B, where are we going?" I asked, just remembering that she hadn't said anything.

She smiled excitedly and I noticed some nervousness etched onto her face but I decided to let it go. "It's a surprise, you'll see eventually."

"No fair; you know where we're going!" I said, sounding uncannily like a little kid.

She laughed, "Obviously J, I'm the one driving. Oh, there's a blindfold in the side of your door; can you put it on?"

"No way in hell am I going to wear a blindfold while you drive us around a country we've never been in before!" I exclaimed loudly.

I should have known she wouldn't take no for an answer. She pulled over onto the side of the road before turning so she was facing me.

"Please Jasper, for me? I really, really want to surprise you and I won't be able to unless you put the blindfold on. Besides, don't you trust me?" She asked as she gave me The Look, you know the one; big, wide eyes aimed at me, but chin tilted down just a little. Yep, that one. The one I never say no to.

I groaned before rummaging through the box-ish thing on the side of the door. When I finally found it, I pulled it out before giving it to Bella. "You know you could probably stab someone and get away with it with just that pout?"

She laughed as she took the blindfold from my outstretched hand. She tied it around my eyes, plunging me into the darkness. I felt her kiss my cheek, sending an unknown feeling through me. "Thanks J, I love you."

"Yea, yea." I muttered. "Love you too."

I felt the car smoothly move forward and I figured she had pulled back onto the road. This time she placed her hand over mine and I squeezed her hand.

The fact that she wouldn't be able to see my eyes gave me a lot of free time to think about what had happened before. The only thing that I could come up with was that something horrible had happened to my Bella. But what and why won't she tell me? Am I really that unworthy that she wouldn't tell me?

_Maybe she doesn't want you to worry. _ A small part of my brain said.

But I always tell her everything; why won't she tell me?

_You tell her everything huh; does she know that you're smoking? _

No, but that's different.

_Different cause you're the one hiding something from her._

Shit. Ugghhh; I had to tell her about the smoking thing. I could never expect her to tell me what was going on with her if I was hiding something from her. I would tell her; I just had to find the right time.

I was pulled out of my depressing train of thought when I felt the car come to a stop. I turned in the general direction that B was in and heard her take a deep breath before nervously saying, "Are you ready?

I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring way. "Yea; I'm sure this will be amazing. Thanks B."

I heard a smile in her voice when she replied. "You haven't even seen it yet; don't thank me until you see it. You might hate it."

"I could never hate something that you're showing me."

She shoved me, "Don't make me blush Jasper."

I laughed loudly and I heard her join in. "Okay, stay in the car. I'm going to come around to your side and I'll guide you."

"Bella," I whined. "I open your door; you're not supposed to open mine."

I could almost hear her rolling her eyes. "Jazz, you're blindfolded. If you tried to open my door you'd probably end up hurting me. Is that what you want?"

"No." I pouted as I settled back into my seat, crossing my arms over my chest.

"That's what I thought." She said as I heard her open and close her door. She opened my door, "Come on J; get out of the car."

I just sat there wanting to see what she would do. "Jasper Hale Whitlock. I swear if you do not get out of that car I will personally drag you."

I remained sitting, feeling a smile pull up the corners of my mouth. She sighed before coming closer to me and before she could figure out what I was doing I shot my arms out where I guessed she should be and grabbed her so she was sitting in the car on top of me.

"Jasper! The point is to get out of the car." She said only succeeding in making me laugh.

"I think we should just stay in the car." I whispered into her ear. She giggled quietly before sighing dramatically.

"If you want we can stay in the car and not do what I spent hours planning for us to do. If that's what you _really _want-"she started before I cut her off.

"Okay okay I get it; let's get out of the car." I pouted making her laugh.

I felt her climb off of me and out of the car. I followed her out before standing there, still pouting. "As cute as you look pouting, we actually do have to get somewhere." She said.

"Lead the way darlin'." I said as I squeezed her hand that I was holding.

She squealed excitedly before abruptly pulling me in her direction. We walked for at least a half an hour; going in circles and twisting and turning which succeeded in making me completely unsure of where we were. Just as I opened my mouth to ask her if we were lost, she stopped walking.

"Okay, we're here!" She said excitedly. "On the count of three, take off your blindfold." She said, some of her nervousness creeping back into her voice.

"One,"

"Two,"

She took a deep sigh before finishing. "Three."

I nearly ripped the blindfold off my face in my haste to see where we were. When I finally got it off and looked around, I felt my jaw drop in shock.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey guys, I know I keep asking for reviews but this is my first time writing and I'd really appreciate if you guys could tell me if it's good or bad. I don't want to end up wasting my time if this story's really bad. **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys, I know you all probably hate me and I'm so sorry but I've had a major case of writer's block and nothing I wrote was up to my standards so I'm extremely sorry. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, read and review!**

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><p><em>Previously: I nearly ripped the blindfold off my face in my haste to see where we were. When I finally got it off and looked around, I felt my jaw drop in shock. <em>

**JPOV:**

All I could do was stand there in shock and stare; my eyes grew wide and I found myself frozen in place with my arms hanging awkwardly at my sides and my mouth wide open. I couldn't believe it.

Suddenly Bella spoke, startling me out of my shock. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea. Let's go; you can pick what we do this time." She started walking away with sadness etched onto her features.

I stuck my arm out in front of her so she couldn't walk past me. "It wasn't stupid Bella; this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you so much!" I exclaimed as I picked her up spinning her in circles. I was rewarded when I heard her laughter echo all around us.

When I finally put her down I looked around again, more patiently this time and I found myself dumbstruck once again. She had somehow managed to find a place that was literally a replica of the meadow in Phoenix that had become our special place.

The grass in the meadow was long and wavy and the meadow was a perfectly symmetrical circle. There were wildflowers the color of purple, yellow and white scattered across the grass and I could hear a bubbling stream somewhere nearby. There were trees framing the meadow all around creating a sort of arch making it look even more otherworldly.

"Beautiful." I whispered, not noticing I had said it out loud until I saw Bella's eyes light up with her happiness.

I held her right hand, looking down when I felt the cold of metal pressing against my skin. I noticed it was a ring and I picked her hand up so I could see it better.

When I finally understood what the ring was, I gasped in surprise. The ring that was gleaming on her finger was my junior year class ring. There was no mistaking the deep blue sapphire square, the guitar emblem Bella had picked out or my name carved into one side of it.

I looked at Bella questioningly, "You still wear my ring?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Of course I wear your ring; it was the only thing I had left of you when you went to Forks. It's the only thing that kept me sane the past year." She whispered softly.

I crushed her to my chest, "Thanks B, I thought you would have taken it off by now."

She moved her head so she was looking up at me and I had to tilt my head down to actually look at her. "I promised you I wouldn't."

The only response I had was to smile at her and push a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. "So, what do you have planned for us to do today Bella?" I drawled, purposely making my Southern accent even more prominent.

"Stay here," she said. "I need to go get something from the car."

She turned around and started walking away from me and I simply followed her, waiting for her to realize. "What part of 'stay here' didn't you understand?" She asked still not looking at me.

I spun her around so she was forced to look at me, "Bella, I'm not letting you roam around an unknown forest by yourself."

She sighed before turning around and continuing her walk except this time she was holding my wrist and dragging me through the forest behind her.

"Damn Bella, slow down! Where's the fire?" I muttered after she made me run into another tree.

When all I got in response was a giggle and her dragging me into another tree; I figured she was doing it on purpose. When we finally got out of the forest and to the car I literally sighed in relief. "Finally! Why were you so insistent on dragging me through every single tree in there?" I asked rhetorically.

"Well, it wasn't on purpose Jasper. It's not my fault that you're just soooo tall!" She said looking up at me with the expression of an angel painted onto her face.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "I'm sure you didn't want to do that on purpose as payback for me following you."

She smiled at me with a barely concealed mischievous glint in her eyes, "Of course not; I would never do that to you Jazz."

I rolled my eyes and muttered quietly, "Sure. Now what did you need to get from the car?"

She walked over to the car with a slight spring in her step and I smiled in response to the blatant sign of her happiness. She opened the trunk and got a picnic basket and blanket out of it causing me to wonder when she had managed to get it in there without me noticing.

"I put it in when you were getting changed in your room; I told Em and Edward to stall you." She said still rummaging through the trunk with her back to me.

I stood there shocked for a multitude of reasons and I decided to ask her my most basic question. "I said that aloud?"

"Nope." She said finally turning around. "I just knew you were wondering how I got it in the trunk."

"Huh, second question; you got Em and Edward to stall me."

"That's not really a question Jazz, more like a statement." She pointed out, trying not to laugh.

"B…" I trailed off, trying to get my point across.

This time she laughed loudly at me. "Yea, I told them that I needed at least 3 minutes to get it set up and if you were as excited as I was I figured that's how long it would take you. So, I asked them to stall you for a while."

I stood there completely shocked as the effort she had put into surprising me hit me. I felt a smile spread across my face and I hugged Bella trying to thank her without words.

"Thanks Bella."

"For what?" she asked completely confused, and once again I wanted my old confident Bella back.

"For making this trip amazing on the first day." I said gaining a smile from her before it stretched, turning into a wicked grin that I was almost scared of.

"Well, let's go back to the meadow Jazz. Oh, and I'm sooo sorry if you end up hitting any more trees." She smirked not even listening for my response before she pulled me through the forest again, dragging me through trees.

When we finally got the meadow I knew I was pouting at the fact that I had just come in close contact with pretty much every tree in the forest. I was expecting her sympathy and an apology when she turned around and saw me; I was not, however, expecting for her to double over and start laughing so hard I saw tears well up in her eyes.

Now I was starting to get pissed and that's never a good thing because of course my verbal filter didn't work. "Yea, it's so funny that I was just dragged through the forest by my best friend who's currently laughing at me. Thanks for caring Bella." I bit out, not even registering the hurt on her face in my anger-induced rant.

She stopped laughing immediately and walked over to me. She reached up on her tip-toes and started pulling something out of my hair. I watched confused as she came back down to her normal height and showed me a bunch of feathers.

She looked at me with a sad smile. "I'm sorry for laughing at you Jazz, you just had all these feathers in your hair and you looked funny. And I shouldn't have dragged you through the trees; I'm sorry." She said averting her eyes from my gaze. "I do care, I won't do it again."

_Shit._ I mentally kicked myself for being so rude to her; I knew she cared and she wasn't trying to be rude. I just, I wasn't being rational and B, as usual, ended up taking the brunt of my rudeness. She was finally loosening up and having fun and it looked like the pain in her eyes was going away and of course I had to royally screw up.

She had gone out of her way to make sure that I had a good time by finding a meadow and even packing us a picnic lunch and I had a let a minute's immaturity ruin everything.

I walked towards her and she seemed to shrink away; probably thinking I was still mad at her. I sighed deeply and walked forwards again, crushing her to me in a hug.

I looked down so I could see her eyes. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said; I was just being immature. I know you care and I know you were just joking when you dragged me through the trees."

She looked at me and gave me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes like it usually did. She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off. "Don't say you're sorry Bella; please if you value my sanity do not tell me that you're sorry. It was my fault and I shouldn't have been such an ass; you did nothing wrong."

"It's fine Jasper, it wasn't your fault. It was stupid of me to do that and I understand why it seemed like I didn't care. But, let's not argue about that right now; I don't want it to ruin our day together. Do you still want to hang out or do you want to go back to the hotel?" She asked quietly as if she was afraid of my answer.

"B, of course I want to hang out. And I'm sorry for what I said; I love you Bella." I said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She smiled radiantly. "I know Jasper; I love you too."

"Well then, I have a plan." I said, mock seriously.

"Well what is it, kind sir?" She asked playing along with my ridiculous idea.

"There is no more being sad today. It's just going to be Bella and Jasper like always; I forbid both of us from being sad. We are going to be ridiculously happy."

She giggled lightly. "Sounds like a good plan. I agree!"

At that I grabbed the picnic blanket and spread it out on the ground before walking back towards her and offering her my arm, "Would you like to sit down, m'lady?"

She laughed and linked her elbow through mine. "Don't mind if I do sir."

I smiled glad that she seemed a little better at least for now. I watched mesmerized as Bella opened the picnic blanket and pulled out all of my favorite foods. Out came penne fresco, her homemade lasagna, and my favorite chocolate cake that she always made.

I'm positive that by the time she had set up all the food my mouth was literally watering. I might be able to cook, but next to Bella my food tasted like something you would get at McDonald's.

I looked at Bella with wide eyes, "You made all of this?" I asked with awe coloring my tone, making me sound like a 5 year old who had just discovered chocolate.

"Of course Jazz, I know that they're your favorite so I made them for you." She said making me feel like an even bigger ass for the stunt I pulled earlier.

"But when? It's hot so you definitely made it here, but that makes no sense."

She winked at me, "Never underestimate my persuasive skills Jasper." She said simply offering me no elaboration.

At that I laughed loudly, knowing full well the extent of her persuasion skills. Half the time she didn't even try; people just always wanted Bella to be happy. She was one of those people who made your day better just by being happy. That was another reason why whatever was going on with her was literally killing me.

"Don't worry B; that's one thing I will never underestimate."

She laughed and flashed me a wide smile. "What? I would never try to persuade you into doing something you didn't want Jazz."

I raised one eyebrow and looked at her with complete disbelief evident on my face. "Really? How about the whole blindfold fiasco on the way here?"

"That wasn't me; you just decided you wanted to wear it." She said; and if I hadn't been there to see her give me The Look I would have believed her. The aura of complete innocence and truthfulness that surrounded her always made people assume she was right.

That had gotten us out of so much shit in Phoenix; she was always the one to get us in trouble and get us out. She had every male, kid and adult, in the Phoenix area wrapped around her finger.

To this day, I have met no one with the ability to resist her dimpled grin, wide innocent brown eyes and infamous pout. Honestly, I don't think I ever will. Just one of them alone is enough to get her way; all three of them together are just a deadly combination.

"Sure B, whatever you say. Now, how about we stop talking and eat this delicious food that you so graciously made for us." I asked, now staring greedily at the food.

"Dig in Jasper," she says. "You're why I made this much food." She smirks at me and I don't even bother to reply to her because eating tons of her food is barely a crime.

I quickly grab a fork and dig right in, not paying attention to Bella's loud giggles. "Oh my god." I groan the minute I bite into her delicious penne fresco; and that's not even my favorite part. "Bella, this is amazing!"

She looks at me and smiles. "You really think so?"

I nod my head so vigorously I think it might fall off. "B, this is the best food I've eaten in my life. You know that you're food is my favorite; if you keep cooking I'll gain 30 pounds by the time we get back to Forks." I say, trailing off when I realize that after this trip I won't see her anymore. She'll be in Phoenix and I'll be in Forks; that thought caused my face to unwillingly set into a pout with my bottom lip jutted out sadly.

"What's with the pout? I thought you said my food was good." She teases.

"Your food isn't just good Bella; it's amazing. I just realized that I won't see you after this trip. You'll be back in Arizona and I'll be in Forks."

At this, her face stretches into the most beautiful, wide smile I've ever seen and that doesn't sit well with me. I keep my mouth shut though, knowing if I say anything it'll be probably be stupid like last time.

"I live in Forks now J; Charlie and Sierra are moving our stuff in right now. They sent us on this trip so we would get to spend our summer having a good time instead of unpacking."

I stared at her slack-jawed before I whooped loudly and picked her up spinning her around, loving the sound of her laughs echoing through the meadow. "So we can have more Bella Jasper time? The trip isn't it?"

"Of course the trip isn't it; I'll see you so much more now." She says, looking at me happily.

I finally set her back down and plop down next to her; happiness spreading throughout my whole body. I'm about to say something meaningful to her but my stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly announcing how much I want B's food.

She giggles at me, "Eat the food J, I promise I'll still be here."

I smile toothily at her before shoveling food into my face once again; it's not my fault that her food is so delicious. By now I'm done with the penne fresco and I move onto her amazing homemade lasagna.

I bite into it and I swear I hear angels singing in the background; that's how good it is. It's been so long since I've eaten her food and I almost forgot how amazing it tastes.

When I'm finally done eating I sprawl out on the soft grass comfortably feeling more peaceful and relaxed than I have in a long time; my head is in Bella's lap and my legs are stretched out across from me.

Her fingers run softly through my hair causing me to hum in contentment; it's been way too long since we've been this carefree and happy and I've missed it so damn much.

She works her way through my wavy blond locks and I feel myself becoming more and more relaxed with every stroke of her hand through my hair. I sigh happily and somehow fail to notice that I'm spending more time in between blinks than with my eyes actually open and that my eyelids are drooping dangerously low.

Her hands continue to move in a soothing rhythm and my vision keeps becoming unfocused and I rub my eyes trying to stay awake. However, my efforts are completely wasted when she starts singing a soothing song quietly.

The calm atmosphere she created made it impossible for me to notice when I peacefully slipped into oblivion and slept more peacefully than I have since I left Phoenix.

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><p>The minute I woke up I looked around blearily trying to register why there were trees around me and why I could hear someone singing. Suddenly it all came flashing back to me; Bella's surprise, me being an ass, her amazing food and me falling asleep in the meadow.<p>

I looked up at Bella, considering my head was in her lap, and smiled sleepily at her. "Hey."

She smiled back at me softly while brushing my hair out of my eyes, "Hey yourself."

I picked myself out of Bella's lap and stretched my arms. "How long was I out?" I asked, figuring it was probably around 10 minutes; so imagine my surprise when B looks at her phone and says 1 hour and a half.

I shot straight up so I was now standing at my full 6'4" and towering over Bella way more than usual. I started pacing and running my hands through my hair, "I've been sleeping for an hour and a half? Why didn't you wake me up?" I ask facing Bell.

She simply rolled her eyes before getting up so she didn't have to crane her neck to look at me. "You looked so peaceful sleeping; I didn't want to wake you up in the middle."

I looked at her exasperated, "But I just wasted an hour and a half of our time. We could have done so much in that much time."

"Jazz, its fine. I promise I didn't mind. We should probably head back to the car now though; it's already 4 o clock."

I opened my mouth, about to freak out that it was already 4 but I quickly shut up when she glared at me. "Don't say anything Jasper. Just help me clean this up and then we'll walk to the car."

I actually had value for my life so I chose to listen to what she said; I was in no mood to have her beat me up. We soon had everything back in the picnic basket and I folded up the picnic blanket.

"Ready to go?" I asked Bella.

She smiled at me and nodded before taking hold of my hand. I couldn't help but notice how carefully she navigated us through the woods this time. She looked so serious and was concentrating intently on making sure we didn't run into anything. It was such a stark contrast from how she was before and I felt my heart ache in response.

I'm so stupid.

"We're here!" she said with fake enthusiasm, pulling me out of my self-hate. She went and opened the trunk and we put everything in the back before getting in the car.

I wanted to drive; I felt so useless just sitting in the passenger seat but B looked so happy as we literally flew down the smooth Belgian roads. I wasn't going to take that away from her; besides, if I asked to drive this car I'm pretty sure I'd get a very loud 'no' and some threats.

I reached over and turned the radio down since it was effectively killing our chances of conversation. When Bella looked over at me questioningly I simply shrugged my shoulders and said, "I already wasted one and a half hours; I'm not wasting any longer."

She rolled her eyes, "Let it go J, it's not a big deal."

"It is definitely a big deal; it's been 1 year since I've last seen you and I wasted time sleeping!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air emphatically.

My dramatics caused her to laugh loudly and she shot me a pointed look. "I think Emmett's rubbing off on you J."

I mock gasped and covered my heart with my hands. "Oh no! What a shame!" My antics caused her to laugh even louder which in turn resulted in my smile growing even bigger.

I looked around, completely confused about where we were. "Uh Bella, where are we?"

She stared straight ahead as she spoke. "Belgium." I looked at her with an exasperated look only to be met by her trademark smirk.

My pointed look caused her to laugh and give me an actual reply. "Relax J; we're about 5 minutes from the hotel."

"How come I don't recognize it?" I asked, still confused.

This time she was the exasperated one. "Because most people can't see when they're blindfolded. What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"

I smiled sheepishly at her, "I kinda forgot about the blindfold part."

She laughed loudly in response and said, "Well now you can't hold it against me considering you clearly already forgave me." I could hear the glee evident in her voice and I pretending to be extremely disappointed.

"Damn, I was going to hold that against you for the rest of your life." I said watching her lips slide up into a large grin.

I saw the hotel on the side of the road and watched as Bella smoothly maneuvered into the parking lot and managed to find a spot right by the entrance.

"I told you I knew where we were." She said, sticking her tongue out at me with her impressive maturity. Sense the sarcasm?

"Yea, yea." I said. I saw her about to open her door and I literally flew out of the car and raced around to her side, opening the door.

"Whoa J, calm down." She said with a barely suppressed laugh.

"You opened my door before, so now it's my turn." I say as she rolls her eyes and gets out of the car; bowing dramatically and saying thank you.

I simply hold her hand in response and we walk to the elevator in comfortable silence. I laugh as I notice her jabbing the elevator button just like Emmett does.

"Thanks B; it was fun." I say once we're finally in the elevator.

"Anytime Jasper." She says but I notice a glimmer of pain and hurt in her eyes and I turn to look at her, worried.

"What's wrong Bella?" I ask as I pull her closer to me, so I can see her better.

She sighs deeply in response before shaking her head and saying, "I'm sorry I dragged you through the trees Jazz. I honestly didn't mean for it to seem like I didn't care."

The whole time she talks she makes sure she's not looking at me and I'm so mad at myself for doing this to her. I wish she would yell at me and smack me across my face but I know she won't ever do that.

"Bella," I say but she continues to avoid my eyes. "Bella, look at me. Please." I say as she finally looks up at me and I almost yell out at the intense hurt in her eyes and I know I have to fix this problem now. "Darlin', I'm not mad at you and I know you care about me. I was just being really stupid and some of my irritation from that guy in the parking lot all came together and made me say some really stupid things. You did nothing wrong." I say fiercely, wanting her to understand.

She smiles shakily and nods at me in acceptance but I can see in her eyes that while she accepts what I'm saying she doesn't agree with it.

I will do everything in my power to make sure from here on out, Bella's trip is going to be amazing. I never want to see her that sad again and I will do everything I can to ensure her happiness. "_Someday she will tell me what's wrong, and I'll help her. But no matter what, I'll make sure she's always smiling," _I vow to myself.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you like this chapter! Read and Review please! (: **

_Previously: _ "_Someday she will tell me what's wrong, and I'll help her. But no matter what, I'll make sure she's always smiling," _I vow to myself.

**JPOV:**

When the elevator doors opened, Bella shot out the door then stopped abruptly and waited for me to get out. I looked at her questioningly with one eyebrow raised and in response she just rolled her eyes and looped her elbow through mine.

We walked to her room in contemplative silence, for the first time not saying anything to each other. "I'm going to go to my room B, I'll see you later."

"You're not coming in?" she asked, looking at me curiously.

"No, I'm going to go talk to Emmett and Edward and then we'll come back. Kay?" I asked making sure she was looking at me.

"Yup." She said cheerily but I noticed her smile slip into a frown as she shut the door quickly behind her. I pulled on my hair in frustration as I walked into my own room, closing the door behind me. Why won't she tell me?

"Tell you what Jasper?" Em asked making me jump.

I turned around confused, "Huh?"

"You said 'why won't she tell me'. Why won't she tell you what?"

"Oh. Nothing." I said pointedly looking away from him.

He raised one eyebrow at me, "So you're mad because she didn't keep anything from you? Yes, that seems justified."

I groaned quietly. "Just let it go Emmett."

"Fine. But you're going to have to tell us eventually." He said giving me a serious look.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever. Anyways, what was up with you and Edward today?"

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked, with a look of fake innocence plastered onto his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him before speaking, making sure to enunciate every word so he would understand exactly what I was talking about. "Every time I talked to Bella you two would look at each other with this knowing look. And I want to know, what the hell the knowing look was about."

Edward chose this moment to finally walk back into the main room and I looked at him expectantly waiting for an answer. "Jasper, if we tell you you're just going to say we're being ridiculous."

"It can't be that bad. Just tell me; I can handle it."

"You're in love with Bella." Emmett blurted out before covering his mouth with his hands, like that would help.

I stood with my jaw hanging open and my eyes wide enough to be mistaken for saucers. "Wha... me… Bella." I stuttered out, unable to form a complete sentence in my shock.

Finally, I seemed to get it together enough to complete a sentence. "Explain now." Well not necessarily a complete sentence, but at least I strung together two words that made sense.

Emmett rolled his eyes at me and motioned for Edward to explain, probably figuring he would just end up blurting out something else stupid.

I turned to look at Edward expectantly. "You're in love with Bella."

This time, I rolled my eyes at him instead of freaking out. "Emmett already said that; what I want to know is why you would even begin to think that."

"Dude, Bella knows more about you than anyone else and anyone can tell that you care more about her than just about anyone else."

I looked at them exasperated; their reasoning did absolutely nothing to prove that I was in love with Bella.

Clearly seeing the look of exasperation on my face, Em finally decided to speak up. "Jasper, how'd you feel when you saw Seth and Bella kiss?"

As I thought about them kissing, it felt like someone was stomping on my heart and I'm sure the look on my face turned to one of pain.

"Why do you look you're in pain at the thought of them kissing if you don't love her?" Em asked, looking smug.

That one was easy. "I do love her, that doesn't however mean I'm _in _love with her. She's like my sister, the reason I'm so close with her is because she's always been there for me. And the reason I look like I'm in pain is because she's like my sister; I will** never** like the idea of some guy kissing her." I said, as my face now held an expression of disgust at the idea of some imbecile trying to kiss my Bella.

"This is why I said we wouldn't tell you; you think it's a ridiculous idea." Edward said knowingly.

"Of course I do! You're trying to tell me that I'm in love with the girl that's been my best friend for practically my whole life! Did you think I'd say, 'Yes of course I'm in love with her.'?"

"No, that's why we weren't going to tell you."

I rolled my eyes at them before going to my room and splashing cold water on my face. It was really hot outside and my face felt like it was on fire, especially after the little yelling match we just had.

I walked back into the main room, "I'm going to B's room. Are you guys coming?"

They shared another look, only stopping when I glared at them. "Yea, we'll come." Emmett said.

"Alright, well then let's get on with it." I said, annoyance lining my sentence.

We walked quietly from our room to their room as I tried not to think about what they had tried to tell me. If I kept thinking about it, I would just get angry and then I'd have to explain to Bella why I'm mad.

Just before I knocked on the door to their room I seemed to get myself in control enough that I didn't look like I wanted to kill someone. When nobody came to the door, I knocked again and this time she opened the door with a surprised look on her face.

"Em, Edward; you two go ahead. I want to talk to Bella about something." I said with my eyes locked on Bella's.

I vaguely heard them mumble okay as I waited for them to get out of earshot. When they walked into one of the bedrooms and shut the door behind them, I moved closer to B.

"Why do you look so surprised to see me? I said I was coming back."

"Sorry, Alice, Rose and I were talking about something and I just got caught up in the conversation."

"I'm guessing you're not going to tell me what that conversation was about?" I asked already knowing the answer.

She shook her head sadly, "Sorry J. Not yet, I will tell you. I just... I need some time."

As much as I wanted to know what was going on, I wouldn't make her tell me. "I'll wait Bella, until you're ready. But, I'll always be here for you. You know that right? No matter what you tell me, I'll never leave you."

She kissed me lightly on the cheek and whispered into my ear, "Thanks Jasper."

I smiled at her happily, "Anytime, now why don't we go to that room?" I asked, tilting my head in the general direction of the room Em and Edward had disappeared into.

She took my hand and we walked into the room silently, this time in comfortable silence. As we walked into the room, I noticed that Em and Edward were engaged in a heated debate and when I saw them, I tried not to burst out laughing.

"What are they fighting about?" Bella asked Rose and Alice who were trying not to laugh at them.

When it looked like Alice was going to choke on her laughs, Rose decided to enlighten us. "We were all talking about the trip and how cool it would be when suddenly these two started arguing about whose summer would be more amazing."

When she said that, I couldn't control my laughs anymore and I burst out laughing. That was such an Edward/Emmett thing to argue about. I was laughing so hard that Bella slipped her arm around my waist to keep me from falling on the ground.

When I finally got control of myself I noticed that Bella was looking at me with a small smile on her face and I looked at her questioningly. In response she shook her head slightly before replying. "It's been so long since I've seen you laugh that happily."

I looked down at her with a small smile on my face before both of us turned to listen to Em and Edward's ridiculous argument.

"Dude, mines obviously going to be better. I mean, have you seen me?" Emmett asked incredulously.

"Sadly I have seen you. And, that's why my summer is going to be better. I'm amazing!" Edward argued back.

By this time, Bella seemed to think she had enough of their ridiculousness so she ran in between them causing them to stop their glaring competition.

Em sighed exasperatedly, "Yes Bella?"

"Obviously, my summer is going to be the best so why don't both of you shut up so we can do something interesting." She requested in such a sweet voice that Em and Edward looked at her dumbfounded.

"Did you just tell me to shut up?" Emmett asked, clearly surprised that a girl about 1/3 his size told him what to do.

"Yes. Now, are you done asking me stupid questions?"

He nodded bewildered and him and Edward walked over to us, still looking surprised. I bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh at the fact that they were scared of a girl not even half of their size.

"Good. Now, what do you guys want to do?" Bella asked, looking at all of us expectantly.

"Uhm." Emmett said with a conflicted look on his face. "We could go to the carnival, or Waterloo, or the Castles or.." Emmett said excitedly before I cut him off.

"Okay, apparently we have to decide." I said loudly, talking over Emmett's excited voice.

Bella's face suddenly lit up and I looked at her expectantly, "Let's go to the carnival! It'll be fun!"

Sounds fun to me. "What do you guys think?" I asked looking around, when everyone nodded in agreement I smiled happily.

"YES! THE CARNIVAL!" Emmett yelled excitedly before running out the room, presumably to go downstairs.

All of us laughed loudly at his unending enthusiasm before all of us took the elevator down and walked outside to the parking lot. When we got to parking lot all of us saw Em standing there impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground as he waited.

When we saw the impatient look on his face all of us burst out laughing once again causing Emmett to stick his tongue out in response. "Well come on, we don't have all day!" He said.

"Alright Em; but, I'm driving my car." Bella said seriously, giving us a look that dared us to argue with her. Rose and Alice quickly agreed with her, making it clear that none of us would ever be allowed to drive their cars.

"Okay, so two people can go in each car. Who are Emmett and Edward going with?" Bella asked, conveniently leaving out my name making it obvious to the others that I was going with her.

I smiled happily and walked over so I was standing next to B, watching as the other 4 just stared at each other, as if that would magically decide who was going with who.

I knew Emmett wanted to go with Rosalie, but I also knew he wouldn't say anything so I nudged Bella in the shoulder to get her to look at me.

She looked at me questioningly and in response I pointed at Emmett who was looking at Rosalie longingly. She smiled at what she saw and winked at me, showing me that she understood what I was trying to say.

"Okay, clearly I'm going to have to decide who goes with whom. Edward, you're going to go in Alice's car. Em, you're going in Rosalie's car." Bella said, looking at Emmett expectantly.

When his face lit up in response she looked back at me with a satisfied look on her face.

"Alright, but which car is Rosalie's?" Emmett asked confused but still excited.

"It's Rose." She corrected. "And it's the red Ultimate Aero EV." She said proudly.

Emmett turned around and whistled lowly when he finally saw her gorgeous car. "Nice car. It's the same color as my Jeep." He said appreciatively.

"Thanks Emmett." She said, with a smile. Anybody could clearly see how proud she was of her car. "Now if you don't hurry up, you're going to be walking to the carnival."

"Okay, I'm coming. Bye guys!" He shouted, as he ran to catch up with Rose.

Edward and Alice walked over to her canary yellow Porsche and Bella and I walked up to her car. Just before we got in the car, Rose yelled, "We'll race you guys there!"

"You're on!" Bella and Alice yelled in agreement.

"Bella, stick to the speed limit!" I warned, with a smidge of fear evident in my voice.

"There is no speed limit here Jazz." She said happily as she got in the car." I turned to look at Edward fearfully only to see the same look on his face.

I gulped in fear before getting in the car, hoping she wasn't going to kill me. The second she started driving, I gripped the seats tightly, scared for my life. Bella always drove fast, but this was borderline insane.

I had to do something to calm down, so I turned to Bella trying not to look as scared as I felt. "Wanna talk about something interesting?" I asked as I leant back in my chair and closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see us flying by.

"Hmmm. How about some of my amazing jokes?" she asked.

I opened one eye and looked at her just in time to see her wink at me. "Are these going to be the good ones or the lame ones and the blond jokes that still manage to make me laugh?" She seemed to think telling me blond jokes was hilarious, considering I was blond.

"Obviously, they're going to be the lame ones and the blond ones Jasper. I wouldn't be able to make you laugh with good jokes." She said in a fake exasperated voice causing me to laugh and close my eyes again.

"Alright, lame jokes it is."

"Hmm… oh I got it! What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor?"

What would a farmer say if he lost his tractor? "I don't know. What did he say?"

"I lost my tractor." She said cracking up. Her laughter succeeded in making me laugh, both at the lame joke and at her happiness at the lame joke.

"Nice one B, what's next?" I asked teasing her.

"How many blondes does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

"Making fun of blondes now are you?" I asked, pretending to be offended.

"Oh just shut up and answer the question." She said playfully, knowing I wasn't really offended.

"How many?"

"One, he was an electrician." She said, trying her best not to burst out laughing. However, this time I couldn't stop myself and I cracked up falling forwards in my seat with the intensity of my laughter.

"Funny Bella, you really shouldn't make fun of blonds you know."

She turned and raised one eyebrow at me questioningly. "Yea, cause I totally have something against blonds. That's why my best friend, my sister and my boyfriend are all blond right?"

I shook my head at her, knowing she would never give in. "Any more jokes? Or is that all you can come up with?"

She narrowed her eyes at me before thinking of something that would no doubt be lame, once again. "What did the peach say to the apple? Nothing, peaches can't talk!" She said, not even waiting for me to reply this time.

I couldn't help but laugh and I smiled at her, happy that she always knew what to say. Even if it _was _extremely lame. The rest of the ride consisted of her telling me extremely lame, funny jokes and after a few minutes I completely forgot that we were driving at around 130 mph.

"We're here!" Bella said cheerfully when she noticed we were the first ones there.

Suddenly, something struck me and I turned to look at her accusingly. "You distracted me!"

"What _are _you talking about Jasper?" she asked with a look of fake innocence on her face. The look she gave me reminded me so much of what Emmett had done before that I had to try not to laugh.

"You kept telling me really lame jokes because you realized I was scared." I said softly, keeping the accusation out of my voice.

She looked at me with a small smile. "Would it be wrong if I admitted that I did?"

I laughed at the completely innocent question that only she would ask me. "No, but how'd you know I was scared?"

"Two reasons. Reason number 1: You've never liked it when I drove past 100 because you think I'm going to end up hurting myself. Reason number 2:" she said, holding up another finger to accentuate her point. "I can tell when you're scared Jasper, even if you try hiding it from me."

When I finally managed to wipe the shock off my face I smiled at her, "Thanks Bella."

"Anytime, now let's go outside. I can't wait to see Rose and Alice's face when they find out I beat them." She said giddily as she nearly jumped out of the car.

I shook my head at her with a smile on my face as I opened the door and got out a lot calmer than she had.

**A/N: Hey guys, this chapter's shorter than usual but this seemed like the natural place to stop. Next chapter is going to be more about Bella's story, so please R&R! Sorry for the wait this time! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: IMPORTANT! There are some changes in this story that are pretty important for you guys to know:**

** 1. They all just graduated college, not high school.**

** 2. In the story, I've had some new ideas so some things are going to be different, but I think the changes are going to make the story better.**

**On to the story!**

_Previously:_ _I shook my head at her with a smile on my face as I opened the door and got out a lot calmer than she had._

* * *

><p><strong>JPOV:<strong>

"Finally, back on safe ground!" I yelled out jokingly when I got out of the car.

She shook her head with a smile as she said, "Geez J, have some trust. I'm not going to kill you."

At that, I turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised. "Must I remind you of that time freshmen year in college when you nearly wrapped both of us around a tree?"

In response Bella merely rolled her eyes and fixed me with a disproving look. "I wasn't that good of a driver back then. What's more important is that we won the race! I can't wait to see Rose and Alice's face when they get here." She said happily as she once again turned around so she was facing the road.

I shook my head and laughed at the girl that had come to mean so much to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist as I leaned against the car. I couldn't help the easy smile that slid across my face when she leaned against my chest and sighed happily.

In about 5 seconds the silence was interrupted by the sound of two cars simultaneously sliding into the parking lot. I saw Bella's smile grow even bigger and she looked in their direction excitedly.

"Bella!" Rose called out incredulously. "I can't believe you won!"

Alice chimed in with her agreement. "I could have sworn that I was going to win that. How the hell did you win?"

"By trying to kill us by driving at speeds that are definitely illegal." I interrupted, only half annoyed.

"Well what do you guys want to do?" Alice said excitedly. She and Emmett were extremely similar with their unending enthusiasm and ability to change subjects in a matter of seconds.

"THE FERRIS WHEEL!" Emmett yelled out excitedly and extremely loudly. I'm almost positive that everyone in Belgium could hear him.

"Emmett calm down, I really don't want to get arrested on my first day here for disrupting public peace." Edward said in a teasing tone. With extreme maturity, Emmett simply stuck his tongue out at Edward and walked over to the rest of us.

"Well apparently we're going on the Ferris Wheel." I said.

"YES!" Emmett cheered at my agreement.

I rolled my eyes and all of us followed Emmett as he danced excitedly to the line for the Ferris wheel. I hid my smirk when I saw the size of the line and thought of Emmett's patience.

3…

2…

1…

"Seriously? This line is going to take forever!" He yelled right on cue.

I leant my head on Bella's shoulders and tried to stifle my laughter at Emmett's incredible immaturity.

I looked in front of us and realized that we were finally almost at the front of the line. We'd be able to get on at the next turn and Emmett was nearly jumping up and down with his excitement.

When we finally got into the car, Bella and Emmett pressed their faces against the glass and stared outside with amusement etched onto their faces. None of us could stop our laughter at the identical looks of enthrallment painted onto their faces.

"Bella, you know the point is to sit down and have fun right? Not press your face against the glass?" I teased with a smile on my face.

She turned around and stuck her tongue out at me before walking over and sitting down next to me. She rested her head on my shoulder and I smiled at the calm feeling that washed over my body. For the remaining 2 minutes of the ride, all of us talked and laughed about meaningless things.

I had a feeling that this trip was going to be a lot more fun than I originally thought. Not only was my best friend here with me, but so were two girls that I felt I was going to get along with really well.

When the ride ended all of us got out and walked calmly back to the cars and all of us went back to the cars we had come in. As we got into the car I turned to Bella and smiled at her. "That was actually surprisingly fun."

"Of course it was fun. I was there." She said, mock seriously succeeding in making me laugh.

For the rest of the ride back, both of us were surprisingly quiet and lost in our own thoughts.

I had a really good feeling about this trip, we had only been here for a little while but it was already looking up. I started smiling just thinking about how much fun it would be to be able to spend a month with Bella, her sisters and Emmett and Edward.

It was definitely going to be an eventful summer; that was for sure. Before I knew it, I was pulled out of my thoughts as we drove up to the hotel parking lot. After Bella parked her car we got out and started walking to the entrance. Bella actually drove at a reasonable speed on the way back so by the time we got there; the other four were already waiting by the front desk.

We got over there and immediately Alice started talking.

"We're going to go to our room now; you guys should go freshen up and then come to our room." Alice suggested.

We all nodded our agreement and we went our separate ways. We walked back to the room with Emmett talking excitedly about Rosalie.

"This is amazing guys! She's gorgeous, smart, and funny and she loves cars! That's everything I always wanted in one person!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Edward and I just laughed at his never ending enthusiasm and we walked to the room listening to Emmett going on about Rosalie and how great how she was. I was happy Emmett had finally met someone that wasn't just a dumb pretty girl.

When we got into the room I splashed cold water onto my face and went and pulled a pack of cards out of my suitcase. I loved playing cards, it was so much fun and it helped that I tended to be pretty good at just about every card game.

When I got the cards and went back to the main room, Edward was sitting on the couch and Emmett was missing.

"Emmett, are you done?" I hollered, slightly impatiently.

"Dude, chill out. I promise your girlfriend won't mind if it takes you 10 minutes to get to her room." He yelled back.

At that Edward started laughing but covered it up with a cough when I turned to glare at him. "She's not my girlfriend!" I yelled back petulantly.

"Sure sure." He muttered as he walked back into the room. "Don't have an aneurism, I'm here. We can go now."

In response I simply glared at him before turning to walk out the door. As we walked down the hallway, Emmett happily said, "You know, I think-"

He was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream coming from the girls' room. I didn't even stop to think before I sprinted to their room and hurtled inside, not bothering to knock.

"Bella, are you okay?" I asked immediately, rushing towards her when I noticed she was gripping her arm in pain. I didn't notice Emmett and Edward behind me until I heard them echo my question.

"Yea, I'm fine! I just hit my arm on the table." She said with fake enthusiasm as she tried to cover up the look of pain on her face. While Em and Edward were skeptical, they looked like they somewhat believed her.

I, on the other hand, could tell that she was lying based on the fact that she was avoiding my eyes and there was no way she was in that much pain from a table.

"Bella." I said quietly, hoping she would understand that I didn't believe her.

"Yea Jasper?" she asked with an expression of fake innocence.

I groaned quietly out loud while trying to figure out my best option at the moment. No matter how much she tried to hide it, I could see the pain clearly hidden in her eyes and I didn't want to ask her about it in front of Em and Edward. I sighed before saying resignedly, "We'll talk later."

She nodded her agreement while rolling her eyes and it almost made me feel like she didn't want to tell me. Maybe she thought I didn't deserve to know; after all, I had left her by herself in Texas. It would make sense if she felt like I shouldn't be a part of her life.

My heart literally felt like it was being ripped out of my chest and Bella nudged my shoulder lightly trying to get my attention. "I promise we'll talk later Jasper." She said quietly and with such sincerity that I found myself believing her.

"So, did you bring cards Jazz?" She asked with a smirk on her face. She knew of my unhealthy obsession with cards and couldn't resist from teasing me every chance she got. She was one of the few people that I lost to from time to time.

"Yes." I muttered quietly, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"Well why don't we play then instead of standing around and wasting oxygen!" Rose exclaimed impatiently causing everyone to laugh loudly.

Edward shook his head trying to take everything. "Well Jasper bought cards, so what do you guys want to play?"

Alice took his question as her chance to intervene. "Hold on a minute, I need to talk to Rose and Bella really quickly. We'll be right back."

Emmett just looked at me disbelievingly until I finally got exasperated. "What?"

"Why the hell didn't you ask her about it?"

"Seriously? You're asking me?" I asked loudly, just as the girls walked back into the room.

"What's going on?" Bella asked as she looked confused between Emmett and me.

I simply shook my head, making sure I didn't look angry. "Nothing."

She raised her eyebrow skeptically but didn't question me. "Why don't you guys figure out what to play and we'll go get snacks?"

"Yes, FOOD!" Emmett yelled excitedly giving her all the confirmation she needed. She laughed loudly as the three of them headed off to the kitchen.

"So what do you want to play?" I asked, trying to maintain a fake expression of nonchalance.

Edward and Emmett turned to look at each other and smirked before turning to me. "War." They said in unison.

"Hell no! Who the hell plays war? Stop being stupid!"

"I think it's a good game, we should play it Jasper." Edward said adamantly.

"NO, NO, NO! That's a horrible idea!"

Bella, Rose and Alice decided that now would be a good time to walk back into the room carrying a bunch of snacks and drinks. "Bella, tell Edward he's being stupid!" I pleaded when she placed all of the food on the table.

She shrugged her shoulders and turned to face Edward. "You're being stupid." She said causing shock to settle onto Edward's face.

I now had a smug look plastered onto my face and I couldn't help the smile that broke across my face. "J, why exactly did you want me to tell Edward he was being stupid?"

"Well we were trying to decide what to play and that idiot suggested that we play war. War! I mean, how the hell old are we?" I asked rhetorically, noticing that I needed to stop saying hell every time I was mad.

She looked to Edward and Emmett confused until I saw a look of understanding flash through her. "I don't know Jazz; I think war will be fun." She said dubiously, causing my jaw to drop in shock.

"Yea! Let's vote!" Emmett shouted excitedly. "I vote war!"

"War!" Edward agreed whole-heartedly.

Bella looked at me as if gauging the expression on my still shocked face before agreeing with them.

She turned to ask Alice and Rosalie and I noticed that they had all picked war. I'm sure by now my face was a comical expression of horror and anger but I didn't really care at the moment.

"Bella, you're kidding right?" I pleaded quietly. "We are not playing war! Not only is that game a complete disgrace to actual wars and all things related to history, but it is childish, immature and completely pointless! We cannot play war!" I said angrily before my voice automatically lowered. "We're not playing right?"

That seemed to be Bella's breaking point and she burst out laughing causing everyone else to chime in with her. I couldn't help the expression of shock that crossed my face no matter what. I couldn't believe they tricked me!

I turned to glare at Edward, this is his entire fault. "Well," I started, using a calm voice that betrayed no emotion. "I'd say this wasn't any way near as funny as how Edward woke up the other day. Don't you think Emmett?" I asked causing Emmett to laugh even harder, and effectively replacing Edward's laughter with a scowl.

When I noticed the confused looks I was getting from the girls I turned to a still laughing Emmett. "Em, would you like to enlighten these three girls on what happened?"

He stopped laughing just long enough to get the story out. "Well, Edward's a really deep sleeper and the other day the Jazz-man and I had nothing to do so we wanted to wake him up. We tried calling his name like twenty times but he wouldn't wake up so Jasper blasted Tik Tok on full volume right by his ear. Edward jumped out of bed and fell on the ground, shrieking like a little girl the whole time."

By the time he had finished I was wiping tears from my eyes and everyone else, except Edward, was laughing so hard they could barely stay upright.

Bella turned to me and fixed me with a look of happiness. "That was definitely funnier than what just happened."

Rose and Alice were quick to agree and I felt my smirk grow bigger as Edward continued to scowl at us.

We heard a loud knock at the door and Bella got up excitedly. "I'll get it!" She yelled already halfway to the door.

When I saw Seth walk in, I couldn't stop that unknown feeling from flashing quickly across my face. Rose and Alice looked at me before exchanging a look with each other, leaving me more confused with each other.

"Hey guys, am I interrupting something?" Seth asked politely.

"Nope!" All of us hollered back causing an easy smile to spread across his face.

"Well, what do you guys want to do? Apparently cards are not going to work." I said, mumbling the second part.

None of us had any idea what to do and we sat in silence, thinking. Emmett threw his hands in the air and yelled, "Well we're not getting any younger, so let's stop wasting time and do something!"

Alice looked at her watch surprised before telling us all her idea. "Well, considering its already 7 why don't we go out to dinner?"

I felt my eyes go wide and I quickly pulled out my phone to check the time. I can't believe it's already 7. Huh, well time flies when you're having fun.

"Well I guess we'll go to our room, again, and change into something. Why don't you three ladies pick where we're going?" I suggested.

"I'm not going to be able to come with you guys." Seth said suddenly.

"Well, why not?" Bella asked, looking at him confused.

"I'm still not done unpacking all of my stuff so I'll finish tonight and I'll see you guys tomorrow." He said, leaving the room after quickly kissing Bella.

Em, Edward and I left the room after it was agreed that the girls would pick the place.

When we got to our hotel room for the second time, I headed to my room and threw open the top of my suitcase. I stared blankly at it for 5 minutes, hoping I would just see something that I could grab.

Of course when I packed it, I had arranged it in no specific order and now I couldn't find anything. I sighed deeply before going through my suitcase trying to find something decent to wear to a restaurant.

I finally put on a pair of khaki pants and a long sleeved black polo. **(Pictures on profile)** I hunted through my suitcase until I found my white vans and then I was ready to go.

I went to the bathroom and ran my fingers through my hair trying to get it to listen to me. Of course it stuck up every which way as usual and I finally sighed exasperatedly and just went to the living room and waited.

This time Emmett was waiting for me and Edward still in his room, more than likely trying to fix his hair. "Edward, you done?"

"NO! Now stop interrupting me!" He yelled impatiently.

"FINE! I'm going to the girls' room; you can come over whenever you're done obsessing over your hair."

Emmett laughed loudly and picked himself up off the couch, as we were leaving the room Emmett yelled that he was coming with me and he told Edward to hurry his ass up.

We got to their room and I knocked on the door, tugging on my hair hopelessly as I waited for one of them to open the door. When Bella opened the door, I smiled brightly at her as I saw what she was wearing.

She had on a simple blue dress with white sandals and she looked beautiful as always. "Well doesn't someone look beautiful?" I teased as I walked inside the room.

She blushed lightly as she teased me back. "Well, I suppose you look alright yourself."

"Ouch Bella, that hurt." I said as I held my hand over my heart causing her to laugh loudly.

"I'm just kidding J, you look handsome." She said as she leaned up to kiss my cheek.

"Thanks B." I said smiling at her cheekily.

"However, I don't think your hair could stick up in any more directions if you rubbed a balloon on it." She said half-seriously.

My smile slid of my face and I looked at her pretending to be angry. "Don't worry Jasper, I think you look cute. But do you want me to fix it?"

"Yes please!"

She looked around the room curiously before walking over to a chair and pulling it over to me. She stood on top of the chair so she was finally my height and I couldn't help but laugh at her.

She turned me around so I wasn't facing her and she started running her hands through my hair smoothly. My eyes slid closed and I smiled at how good that felt. I felt her hands working their way slowly through my hair and I sincerely hoped that my hair wasn't a lost cause.

After about two minutes of intense concentration I heard Bella's excited voice. "There!"

I turned back around so I was looking at her and raised one eyebrow questioningly. She simply jumped off her chair and grabbed my hand as she dragged me to her bathroom. When we got there she pointed at the mirror, and I looked at it apprehensively.

I'll admit, when I saw my reflection I was sufficiently shocked. Instead of looking like someone had just run a lawnmower through my hair, it fell normally on my head.

"Thanks B." I smiled as I bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Not a problem, now come on! Let's go!"

When I got back to the living room I noticed that Edward was finally here, his hair still looked the same as always.

"Are you guys ready?" Rose asked leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe.

I nodded and everyone else got up and we went to the elevators quietly. As we rode down, I couldn't help but think about how great today was. First, we came to Europe! Then, I found out that my best friend was going to be here with us. After that, said best friend and I went to our meadow and had the best lunch ever.

I felt a smile slide up the corners of my mouth and my arm unconsciously tightened around Bella. I saw her look up at me confused but as soon as she saw my smile, her face instantly changed to one of happiness.

"Hey guys, same cars?" Emmett asked as we stood outside.

When everyone nodded their agreement we split up into our groups of two. Bella drove her car like a pro and I was admittedly jealous of how comfortable she was with the speed.

"B," I said and paused as I waited for her to acknowledge me.

"Yea?"

"I'm really glad you're going to be here on this trip. It's been too long since I saw you last time and we can finally have time to ourselves."

She turned to me and gifted me with the most magnificent, luminous smile I had ever seen. "Same here J. I'm glad I get to spend the whole summer with you. Nothing will separate us, I promise you that."

Before I even thought about what was happening, I said something I knew I would regret. "Are you sure about that Bella?"

"What do you mean?" She asked with her face scrunched up into a look of confusion.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "So much has changed between us Bella. I have no clue what happened in your life and that bothers me more than you can imagine. I know I said I would wait and I will, but I really wish I didn't have to."

I watched as her face crumpled with sadness and I wanted so much to take what I said back, but I couldn't because there was truth behind everything I said.

"I'm so sorry Jazz. It's not because I don't trust you or that I don't think you deserve to know. The things that happened just weren't pretty or happy, and I don't want to relive it right now. I'm sorry, but right now I have to be selfish. I will tell, just give me some time please. Three weeks maximum, I promise. Can you give me that?" She asked in such a sad voice that no matter what, I knew I couldn't say no.

"Of course I'll wait Bella. I'm sorry for bringing it up; I just wanted you to know that whenever you're ready to tell me I'll be here."

"I know Jas." She held my hand and shot a quick smile at me.

After we reached the restaurant, I remember getting out of the car and walking to the restaurant and I remember telling Bella the place looked amazing. We got inside and went to the table with the other four and while I heard conversation swirling around me I couldn't find the interest to partake in it.

I sat quietly as they talked and laughed and I thought about what could have possibly happened to my Bella that was so bad she didn't want to relive it. I sighed quietly and wished that I knew already.

However, I promised Bella I would wait and no matter what happened, curiosity be damned, I would wait for her to tell me. The whole dinner passed by in a blur and while I knew I ordered something and ate it, I couldn't tell you what it was or if it was even good.

The car ride back to the hotel all went by in a haze and all I remember was telling Bella good night and that I loved her. After that, all I know is that I went to our hotel room and crashed on my bed after changing.

_Please let Bella tell me soon. _ I pleaded hopelessly before finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the delay, but all the work I have is killing me. The next chapter should be up pretty soon because I already have about half of it written. Please R&R! **

**Estimated Posting Date: 2/25/2012**


	7. The Scientist

_Previously: Please let Bella tell me soon. _ _I pleaded hopelessly before finally drifting off to sleep._

**JPOV:**

Two weeks. It's been two weeks since we've been in Europe and I've enjoyed it a lot. Being with Bella has been amazing and I'm extremely happy that Esme and Carlisle sent us on this trip.

Emmett had told Rosalie how he felt and they went on their first date, both returning with giant smiles on their face. Since then, they've both been inseparable and I'm really happy for both of them.

Even Edward finally admitted to liking Alice, but he hasn't said anything to her yet. I'm sure he will eventually, but I think he wants to test out their friendship first and get to know her better.

Honestly, the only thing that could have made this trip better would be if Bella finally told me what was going on. Since that first night we had gone out for dinner, there had been an unexplainable twist in our relationship.

Where we had previously been carefree, we were now always worried and tense. We used to be nonchalant about everything, but now I clung onto every word she was saying as if that would be a clue to her life. The biggest thing that got to me was all the limits and rules that were placed on our friendship.

I had fallen asleep on her bed with her countless times before and I had gotten so used to the peace she brought me. However, the other night when we were watching a movie I had fallen asleep on Bella's bed and she woke me up at midnight and kicked me out with a pained look on her face.

She would never let me sleep in her room at night, but if I fell asleep during the middle of the day she would sit there and play with my hair. There was just something new between us that I didn't like and I knew it had to change.

The fact that I hadn't told her I had started smoking again certainly didn't help anything. I just hope that I find out sometime soon before I die of curiosity.

I was startled out of my thoughts by a small hand tugging on my hand softly. I turned to look at Bella, who was sitting right next to me, and she looked back at me with a questioning look.

I smiled lightly before shaking my head to show her it wasn't important. I knew she didn't believe me but she accepted my response and she turned back to the conversation with a hurt look on her face.

"Well what do you guys want for lunch?" Alice asked, looking at all of us.

"Uh, as long as it's good food I don't mind anything." Emmett said unsurprisingly.

"How about some sandwiches? They're simple enough." Edward stated factually.

"I'll make them." Bella offered and all of us listed off our preferences.

She got up and walked to the kitchen and Emmett turned on the TV and started flicking through the channels before finally giving up.

"Stupid TV!" He muttered angrily. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Uhm," Edward started right before he was interrupted by Bella.

"Hey guys, I was going to light a candle so the whole hotel room doesn't smell like sandwiches. Do any of you have matches or something?"

"Jas has a lighter." Em said, using his head to point in my direction.

With his simple sentence, the fury that made its way onto Bella's face was absolutely terrifying.

_Shit._

Well I guess she's going to find out about me smoking sooner than I originally thought. I looked at her apologetically but the glare she gave me told me to shut up and just go get the damn lighter.

I heaved myself off the couch and walked to my room, dragging my feet as I walked. I rummaged through my suitcase until I found the pocket with my cigarettes and my lighter.

Silently, I grabbed my lighter and made my way back into the living room. I surveyed the room and noticed that Bella was nowhere in sight.

I looked at Edward confusedly and he pointed to the kitchen silently. I sighed and made my way resignedly to my very likely death, probably looking like a sullen child about to get yelled at.

"Here you go B." I said quietly as I handed her the lighter.

She turned to look at me and fixed me with what was quite possibly the scariest glare I've ever seen in my life. "Apparently I'm not the only one that has a story to share, am I?"

"Bella, I'm really sorry…" I said as I started explaining myself.

"It's fine Jazz, I should have known I wasn't enough to stop you from smoking. But I guess that's not important right now." As Bella spoke, the anger was stripped from her face and I saw all the hurt she was trying to hide at the fact that I was smoking again.

I tilted her head up so she was looking straight at me. "Bella, you're always enough. It's just; well it's a long story. I think we need to talk and get everything in the open."

She sighed resignedly. "I guess it's finally time for that talk huh?"

I nodded and when she acknowledged me I quietly left the kitchen so she would be able to make our lunches.

When I walked back to the living room I noticed that Alice and Rose had mysteriously disappeared so I turned to Emmett and Edward to ask them what happened. However before I could say a single thing, Emmett started talking.

"What was that all about?" He asked, sounding incredibly impatient.

"What was what about?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to have to explain.

Edward and Emmett both fixed me with an exasperated look before Edward elaborated. "When Em said you had a lighter Bella gave you what has got to be the scariest glare I've ever seen in my life. And then when you went to the kitchen, you looked like a little kid that was about to get punished."

I decided faking dumb was my best option so I went with it. "I have no clue what you're talking about." I said as I fixed my eyes on the blank TV screen.

"Jasper, you can play dumb but we know you know what we're talking about. Why don't you just cut the crap and tell us?"

Emmett nodded his head vigorously in agreement and I sighed deeply. "It's a really long story guys and I don't want to dwell on it right now. It's really not that big of a deal."

Both of them stared at me, as if they were looking for something on my face. Whatever it was they were looking for, it seemed like they found it considering they both nodded in agreement.

"Kay great. Now where are Rose and Alice?" I asked looking around the room confused.

"They went to go unpack some of their stuff." Emmett said nonchalantly.

"Ohhh." I said just as the girls walked back into the room. Not a moment later, Bella walked out of the kitchen with all our sandwiches piled on a plate.

She put each of our sandwiches on a separate plate and called for us to come get them. When we walked up she handed us each the plate with our sandwich on it.

"Jasper." She said coldly as she handed me my sandwich.

I took the plate from her with a quiet thanks and walked back over to my spot on the couch. When everyone had their sandwiches, I was relieved to see that Bella sat back down next to me. I noticed that she wasn't sitting pressed against me like she was before, but that was to be expected.

"Bella, this is amazing!" Emmett yelled excitedly as he practically inhaled his sandwich.

"Thanks Em." She said, laughing at his enthusiasm.

"It's really good B." I said, nudging her in the shoulder.

"Thank you." She said curtly and her tone didn't escape Edward and Emmett's hearing. They both turned to me and raised their eyebrows but I shook my head; I deserved that.

When all of us finished eating everyone complimented Bella while Alice and Rose offered to clean everything up.

The four of us sat quietly in the living room and I slung my arm over Bella's shoulder hesitantly. She stiffened at first before relaxing into my arms. I knew she was still mad, but I was glad she wasn't completely pushing me away.

By the time Alice and Rose were back, Emmett was literally bouncing up and down in his seat.

"What is it Em?" Rose asked as she walked over to sit next to him.

"Let's go to the pool!" He exclaimed excitedly.

I shrugged my shoulders in response, but immediately turned to Bella with concern when I felt her stiffen.

"N-no uhm, you guys go. I think I'll stay here." She stuttered out nervously causing me to worry.

Alice and Rose looked at her with concern before Rose spoke up. "We'll stay here too. You guys go have fun."

"Guys, you can go too. I'll be fine by myself."

Before Alice and Rose could say anything, I stepped in. "I'll stay here with B, we have something we need to do. You guys go have fun at the pool."

The girls hesitantly nodded their agreement and they only agreed to leave after Bella smiled at them encouragingly. All of them finally left the hotel room, swimming gear in tow.

When they all left Bella turned to look at me, no doubt seeing how curious I was. However, before I could say anything Bella held up her hand to show me that she wanted to talk first.

"J, why do you have a lighter? When you were in Phoenix we threw it away and you promised you would never smoke again. You said that you were done smoking and you would stop, for me. Have you already forgotten that?" She said, her voice a heartbreaking mixture of anger and pain.

"Bella, I tried I really tried. When I was with you, the pain was bearable and I didn't have to smoke. But when I left, it was as if the pain came back full force. I needed it. I'm sorry." I had my head hung in shame and I heard her sigh sorrowfully. I knew she felt bad about what I went through in college and when I felt her rub soothing circles in my back, I knew I was forgiven.

I really wanted to ask her what was going on with her, but I couldn't seem to work up the nerve. Finally, after 5 minutes of pondering I asked her the question I had been thinking about since the first day here. "B, why did you scream that day when we were coming back from the carnival? And then, the other time when you were sleeping why did you shoot out of my hug disgustedly when you woke up?"

She composed herself as it seemed like she was preparing herself to tell me what she was about to. I saw that this was going to be hard for her, but my curiousness and concern for her got in the way of telling her she could stop.

Finally, she seemed ready to start her story.

"Jasper, I think it would be better for me to… show you what happened and then explain it to you. Is that alright?"

I nodded my consent as she started again. I watched in confusion as she took off her shirt and jeans. She was left standing in front of me in nothing but her bra and underwear. Suddenly I was consumed with complete anger and confusion when I saw deep red scars all over her. There were angry marks all over her usually healthy looking pale skin.

I scrambled to my feet and got closer to her. "Bella, what happened to you? Why do you have scars all over you? Did something bad happen? Did -"  
>She cut off my incessant rambling by placing her finger over my lips. I watched with unbelieving, confused eyes as she once again took a deep breath.<p>

"J, relax. I promised you answers and I promise you I'll answer all your questions. I just need you to be patient." She was looking at me so sadly, that I would have agreed to just about anything she was saying.

I quickly agreed to what she was saying, now more concerned than ever about whatever horrible thing had happened to my Bella.

"Jasper, you remember James right?" I growled quietly in response to her question. He was alright I suppose, but he was always following Bella around asking her out. I have no clue why, but he always pissed me off.

She chuckled at my reaction before once again becoming serious. "Well, after you left he kept bugging me to go out with him. In the beginning I kept saying no and one day he came to me and asked why I wouldn't go out with him. I told him that I didn't like players and that I didn't trust him. He said he would change and he did; eventually we became really good friends. Later, he asked me out again and this time I said yes. We went out for a while, and it was great. He made me smile and laugh and we always had fun. But after a while, for some unknown reason everything changed."

I looked at her confusedly. I was happy that James had been able to make her happy. However, the story didn't seem like a pleasant one anymore.

This time as she started talking she refused to make any eye contact with me.

"He wasn't happy anymore and he blamed me for it; he wouldn't talk to me but if he wanted to kiss me he would. I didn't like how our relationship was going, so I went to break up with him. After that, he got furious. He started abusing me as a way to outlet his anger."

By now_ I_ was furious, but I sat quietly as I saw Bella take in a deep breath and start talking again.

"I was scared and I didn't know how to make it stop. One day, not thinking clearly, I told him that if he kept hurting me I would call the cops. He slapped me across the face and I fell down and broke my nose. He told me that if I told anyone, he would hurt Rose and Ali too. Eventually, James hit me at the wrong time and Charlie and Alice walked in on him hitting me. Charlie arrested him and finally the day of his trial came. He owned up to everything and asked to speak with me to apologize. The judge consented and let him talk to me, with three police officers for my safety. He apologized for everything and he got a 10 year sentence. Eventually, Seth and I started talking and I told him everything. Our friendship progressed and we started dating, however James still haunted me. Finally, Sierra had enough of my nightmares and we decided to move to Forks to get a fresh start."

She looked at me and I knew my reaction shocked her. My fists were clenched in anger, but my eyes were red from me trying not to cry. I can't believe my Bella had suffered so much. I had promised to protect her from anything bad and I had failed.

She walked over and sat down next to me quietly; I looked at her and noticed that she had her own tears streaming out of her beautiful eyes. I comforted her and did everything I could to hear her beautiful, musical laugh. I finally succeeded and when I had enough time to wrap my head around what happened I was furious.

"Bella, I can't believe what that sorry excuse for a human did that to you. I'm going to hunt him down and kill him. How dare he hurt you? Who the hell does he think he is?" I fumed rather loudly. Bella placed a calming hand on my chest, but to no avail.

"J, it's okay. I'm fine, no harm done." She tried to reason, but this only made me madder.

"No harm done!" I roared. "Bella he hurt you! Of course there was harm done!" I muttered a string of profanities under my breath until I eventually calmed down.

"Jasper, promise me you won't hurt him."

"Bella, you screamed in pain when you tried to lift your hand and he forced you to leave Phoenix. He hurt you both emotionally and physically."

She nodded, "But Jasper, I'm fine now. Please. Promise me you'll let it go."

I finally looked at her and saw that she was in no mental state to be arguing right now or to be constantly thinking about James. I agreed if only to ensure that she would be okay. I loved her, and if anyone thought they could hurt her and get away with it they had another thing coming.

She seemed happy that I finally agreed with her. "Oh and Jas," She started before trailing off.

She took a deep breath before seemingly deciding not to tell me. I had a feeling that her decision had to do with the fact that there were tears welling up in my eyes, blurring my vision.

She shook her head. "Never mind, it's not important."

I'm sure I looked furious and sad at the same time. "Bella if it comes to you, everything is important."

She smiled slightly at me. "J, it's nothing. I promise I'll tell you later." Right as I was about to protest, she added the one thing that I could never go against. "Please, I can't handle anything more right now."

"I'm sorry B; I didn't mean to push you." I said, ashamed of myself.

"Jasper, look at me!" She demanded. I was purposefully staring at the ground so she couldn't see the emotions on my face.

"J, stop it right now!" She yelled causing me to literally flinch back. I knew I shouldn't have pried; stupid, stupid Jasper.

"Jasper…" She said in such an exasperated tone that made me tilt my face up just the smallest bit, clearly revealing confusion and curiosity. I'm sure I looked like a little kid.

"I understand Bella, it was my fault. I'm sorry." I said softly, now looking straight at her.

"J, that's not what I meant." Now my head was tilted to the side in outright confusion. "I meant stop being so sorry. This isn't your fault!"

"B, it was entirely my fault!"

"Jasper, no it wasn't and if you ever say it is again I will personally make sure you regret it."

I was scared, but my concern for her was definitely stronger. "Bella…"

"Jasper Hale Whitlock Cullen, it is most definitely not your fault. Do you understand me?" She said, nearly yelling.

I sighed but grudgingly agreed. I could feel that I was about to have a breakdown so I decided to change the subject. "Bell, can I ask you something?"

Now it was her turn to look confused. "Sure J, anything."

"Can you go put your clothes on? If I keep looking at the scars I have no clue what I'll do but I know you won't be happy with whatever it is. I already have half a mind to fly to the Forks Central Jail and kill James." I growled the end of my sentence out of pure hatred for James.

She shot me a warning look, telling me not to do anything stupid. Right before she disappeared into the bathroom I called out her name.

"Yea Jazz?"

"Is… is that why you wouldn't let me sleep in your room?" I asked with my head hung, just in case that wasn't why.

I heard her run back to me and I felt her wrap her arms around my waist. "Yea J, I have nightmares. I didn't want you to hear them until you knew the story. I didn't know it bothered you that much. You can sleep in my room again from now."

"Really?" I asked, trying not to sound too excited but failing miserably.

"Yep." She said as she turned to walk back out the room.

The minute she walked out the room, I dropped onto the couch and my head fell into my hands and I could feel the tears pouring out of my eyes.

I certainly wasn't an extremely emotional person; I'd only ever cried twice in my life before this. One time was when I fell and broke my arm as a kid, and the other time wasn't really important right now.

So it half surprised me that I was crying now, but half of me knew that I loved Bella way too much not to be affected by what that idiotic excuse for a person had done to her. I can't believe that he had the nerve to hurt her.

All of a sudden, I felt a warm hand on my back and my head shot up of its own accord. When Bella got a good look at my face, she looked shocked.

I'm sure there was red rimming my eyes, and that my eyes were filled with pain. A steady torrent of tears was running down my face and my posture was slumped forward in misery. My hair was sticking up in every direction from me constantly running my hands through them.

As soon as I saw that it was her, I immediately tried to wipe away my tears and pretend I wasn't crying but it wouldn't work. Every time I wiped away a tear, a new one would slide down my face.

Finally I sighed semi-angrily and half accepted that this was going to take a little while to stop. However, I refused to let Bella see me like this; I looked everywhere except for her face. Finally, it seemed like Bella had enough; she grabbed my chin with just enough force to turn my head in her direction.

I felt broken and I was trying really hard to stay strong for her. I didn't want her to know how badly this affected me. She shouldn't have to suffer anymore because of me.

"Why Bella? Why you?" My grief-filled voice cut through the room and she didn't seem to have an answer to my question.

She settled for just rubbing circles into my back, trying to calm me down. After about 1 minute, I started thinking about what had happened and I was so angry at myself for letting it happen.

I got up angrily and started muttering so quietly that it was probably unintelligible to Bella. "Jasper, I'm sure the ground appreciates the death glare you're currently giving it but would you care to inform me about why exactly you're glaring at the ground like your life depends on it?"

I rolled my eyes at her heavy sarcasm before turning to face her. "Well this is all clearly my fault and since I can't glare at myself I'm glaring at the floor."

Now, she looked angry. "Jas how is any of this even remotely close to being your fault?"

"If I had stayed with you like I had promised he clearly wouldn't have done anything. If I had been there I could have prevented this!" By now I was back to glaring at the floor and pacing angrily.

"Jasper, you better listen to me right now. None of this is your fault. Do you understand? There is absolutely nothing you could have done to prevent a single minute of this!"

I looked at her ready to argue but we were interrupted by a knock on the door signaling that the four of them were back. I'm pretty sure they would have burst in here by now, but all of them had forgotten their keys.

"This conversation isn't over. Fine, for now I'll pretend it wasn't my fault and whenever you're ready for it I want to know what you're hiding."

She nodded quickly. "Ok fine. Go wash your face or something, anyone can tell that you were crying and I don't want them to ask why."

I went off into the bathroom and I heard her open the door. I splashed cold water onto my face and when I was finally satisfied that my face looked normal, I walked back out.

When I got out, Bella looked at me intently; probably to see if there were any traces of tears left on my face.

"Well, we're going to go change back into actual clothes so we're not dripping water all over your hotel room." Edward stated.

"Okay I'll come with you." I said. As we were leaving I turned and shot Bella a regretful look. Even though I didn't want to leave her, I couldn't stand to be in this room any longer.

As we walked to our room Emmett finally broke the silence. "So did you guys talk?"

"Yes."

"And…?" He prodded.

"And nothing Emmett." I said curtly, not wanting to rehash everything and give away Bella's secret.

I walked into the room half glad that I knew Bella's secret and half wishing that I was still as oblivious as I was yesterday.

**A/N: Questions, comments, concerns, want to make me feel better? (: Please R&R! **

**Estimated Posting Date: 3/12**


	8. Now You Know

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope you like it (: R&R!**

_Previously: I walked into the room half glad that I knew Bella's secret and half wishing that I was still as oblivious as I was yesterday._

**Chapter Song:**

_**Now You Know**_ by Hilary Duff  
><em>"Feel so light<br>Craving oxygen  
>All this truth's left me empty<br>Will you run  
>Can you handle it<br>Cause I need you to tell me  
>Maybe this is bold<br>But I'm hoping you'll stay for the happy ending."_

**BPOV: **

I watched as Jasper walked out of the room; sadness seemed to permeate his form and as he left he shot me a regretful look. I was pretty certain that he left because he didn't want to keep remembering what I had just told him.

"So did you tell him?"

"What did he say?"

"What happened?"

"Are you ok?"

Rose and Alice alternately started shooting questions at me so fast that I couldn't even reply. "Guys! Calm down; I can't answer anything if you keep yelling new questions at me."

"Sorry." They both mumbled.

"It's fine. Now; yea I told him. He was really mad about what happened, but I… I didn't tell him the whole thing. I'm fine, a little shaken up, but I'm perfectly fine."

"Wait, you didn't tell him everything?" Rose asked, looking at me confused.

I shook my head slightly keeping my gaze trained on the ground. "Uhh, I didn't mention the reason it started."

I watched as the confusion slid off both their faces and was replaced with sympathy. "Well, there's always time later." Alice said, seemingly unfazed.

"Why don't you two go change? The guys will be back any minute now."

They both nodded and went to go change just as I heard knocking on the door. I went and opened the door, where I was met with Emmett's smile, Edward's look of nonchalance and Jasper's mixed look of love and anxiety.

I easily understood their expressions so I ushered them all in, trying not to look at Jazz. When the other two went to the living room, I finally turned to look at him when it felt like the intensity of his gaze was going to burn holes into my head.

The minute I turned in his direction, he marched over to me and hugged me tightly. I noticed that even though he had a tight grip on me, he was being cautious and careful so he wouldn't hurt me.

"Its fine J, you're not going to break me with one touch." I told him, teasingly.

He cracked a small smile. "I know; but I still worry. Thanks for telling me your story; I know it wasn't easy for you, but I'm glad I understand better."

When he hugged me, I caught the smell of residual smoke on his skin and I looked up at him hurt and confused. The smile immediately slid off his face and he sighed before turning to face me again. "Sorry B. I had to; I just couldn't deal with everything I was feeling right then."

I looked down as I felt the tears prick my eyes and tried not to show him how much I hated him smoking.

"Bella, look at me." He asked quietly.

I continued to ignore him, finding the carpet of the floor extremely interesting at the current moment.

"B, please look at me." He begged softly and I tilted my head up just the smallest bit. I could clearly see his look of pain and the way he was running his hands through his hair absent-mindedly but I was pretty certain he couldn't see the tears welling up in my eyes. I wasn't even certain if they were angry tears or sad tears considering at the moment I felt both emotions strongly.

"Bell, I'm really sorry. I couldn't handle it, I know I shouldn't have but it was the only thing I knew how to do."

"You could have talked me." I said softly. I saw his expression turn to one of sorrow and when he opened his mouth to talk; I shook my head and plastered a fake smile onto my face. I knew he wasn't doing it to hurt me, but I also knew that I would make sure to break him of his habit. "You know what? It's not important right now why don't you go to the living room and I'll get some snacks. Even though we just had lunch, I'm pretty sure Emmett's still starving.

He laughed lightly and kissed my forehead before letting go of me. "Thanks darlin' and I bet he is."

I smiled at his retreating form as I walked into the kitchen to get the aforementioned snacks. When I finally gathered enough to somewhat satiate Emmett's hunger, I stopped to collect my thoughts. I was happy that J knew most of my story; I hated keeping things from him.

I hadn't told him everything, but I will soon enough. I just couldn't bear the look on his face, he already looked like he was going to cry and I really didn't want to add to his burden. Finally, after pondering my situation I realized I should probably go give Emmett the food.

I walked in to find Emmett and Jasper in an intense stare down, for some unknown reason.

"Uhh, guys?" I asked, hoping to figure out what was going on.

Rose and Alice were holding back their laughs at both the situation and the look on my face.

"My idiot brothers somehow convinced themselves that whoever could stare at the other the longest was manlier. They've been at it for about 7 minutes now." Edward answered, with an amused expression on his face.

I shook my head in shame at them, before I was suddenly hit by a stroke of brilliance. I ran in the middle of both of them, waving my hands up and down.

"Bella!" They both screamed at the exact same time, glaring at me while I laughed at them.

"B, I was totally winning that!" Jasper whined, sounding uncannily like a 5 year old boy.

I giggled lightly. "You were only going to win 'cause you learned from the best." I said, pointing to myself proudly.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes glaring at me but I could see the smile twitching at the corner of his lips and the playful glint evident in his clear, blue eyes.

"I'm naturally amazing, take that back!"

"No!" I yelled laughing as Jasper chased me around the room. As he chased me, my laughs echoed around the room; both of us oblivious to the four people watching us amused. Finally, Jasper gave up and scowled at the wall while I smirked proudly.

"Who won Jasper?" Edward asked in a fake innocent voice.

The glare Jazz gave him was enough to make him shut up, but he was still laughing at Jasper and Jasper hated when people laughed at him.

"Bella won." He grudgingly admitted not looking anyone in the eye.

"Aw Jas, you're still my favorite." I said teasingly, smiling genuinely at Jasper.

He beamed his 1000-watt smile. "You're my favorite too."

"Thanks Jazz! That means so much!" Emmett said suddenly, using the nickname I had given to Jasper.

"Not you, you big oaf." Jasper said laughing.

"Ouch. That hurts on the inside bro." Emmett said, pretending to be offended.

After that interesting display, all of us sat around in a circle talking about our separate lives while Emmett ate just about everything I had brought from the kitchen. Throughout the talk, we had somehow managed to avoid the obvious topic of how Jasper and I knew each other. I felt a smile spread onto my face at the thought of Phoenix and all the time Jasper and I had spent together.

I felt someone nudging me in the shoulder and I turned in that direction, only to meet Jasper's questioning glance. He had one eyebrow raised and his lips were quirked into a small smile as he looked at me questioningly. My smile grew even bigger and I shook my head to show him it wasn't all that important. He just shrugged his shoulders and wrapped one arm around my waist as his own smile spread across his face.

"Hey guys! Why don't we just go to that little café right outside the hotel? We can eat an early dinner and then just hang out for a bit." Emmett asked, clearly excited at the prospect of eating.

"Emmett, you just ate my whole damn kitchen. How the hell are you still hungry?" I asked, exasperated.

Emmett simply stuck his tongue out at me, while everyone else eventually decided it was a good idea after we all laughed at Emmett's ever-present hunger.

We walked to the elevators after making sure our room was locked. We pressed the button for the elevator and waited a good five minutes before Emmett got impatient. Naturally, he didn't want to wait so he demanded we take the stairs. When we got to the stairs, Jasper suddenly stuck his hand out in front of me. I looked at him slightly confused, but mostly disapproving as I had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do.

"Bella, I've told you that you are way too clumsy to be walking up or down stairs."

"Jas, you are not carrying me down the stairs." I said adamantly.

Jasper apparently wasn't going to lose another argument to me considering he just raised his eyebrows defiantly before walking over to me and picking me up fireman style. I shrieked in surprise when he flung me over his shoulder and started to make his way down the stairs, completely ignoring my protests.

"Jasper Hale Whitlock Cullen! Put me down this instant, we're on the seventh floor!" I yelled outraged as I pounded my fists on his back.

He winced as I hit him but all he said was, "Bella, I'm not putting you down. You are a danger to yourself and everyone within a 5 mile radius when you go up or down stairs."

I huffed indignantly, but stopped yelling. I settled for scowling at his back and glaring. We finally got to the bottom of the stairs and Jasper put me back on the ground. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes." He said simply as I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him. Instead, we simply waited quietly for the others to get here.

When they finally got downstairs, we were waiting for them, slightly impatiently.

"Come on! We don't have forever!" Jasper said, clearly mocking Emmett.

All of us laughed and we silently made our way out of the hotel to the little café right outside. Jazz had his arm slung around my waist and I had mine wrapped tightly around his. Emmett and Rose stood close together and his arm was across her shoulder. Alice and Edward were just walking quietly down the street, hand in hand.

I smiled at how happy all of us looked as we walked into the restaurant. When we got in, I looked around and spotted a familiar face.

"Seth!" I exclaimed as I let go of Jasper to run to him.

He laughed as he hugged me. "Bella." He said, before we turned to go back to the rest of them. When we got there, I noticed that Jasper had a pained look on his face and Emmett and Edward looked smug.

I went to Jasper's side and tugged lightly on his arm to get him to look at me. In response to my questioning look, he just shook his head and shot me a tight smile that clearly showed he wasn't happy.

I figured he would tell me eventually so I let it go for now. As the rest of them walked to the tables to sit down for a while, I stopped right by Seth.

"Uh, we'll be right back. I just need to talk to Seth alone for a little bit." I said, dragging Seth out the door.

I didn't miss their confused glances or Seth's shrug of nonchalance as he followed me out the door. We walked until we were out of their earshot before Seth's curiosity caught up to him.

"Bells what's up? I didn't know you wanted to talk about something?" He asked, carefully grabbing my arm to stop me.

I sighed loudly before starting. "Seth, I think; I think-"

Seth took my face in his hands and said softly, "Bella. Just tell me whatever it is that's bothering you."

I saw the caring look on his face and it was almost impossible to say what I was going to. "Seth, I love you. I really do; but I think we should break up."

I looked up and immediately regretted it as I saw his face crumble with sadness but I knew I had done what I had had to do. Somewhere along the way I had stopped loving him as a boyfriend, and started loving him as more of a brother.

Sadness was still etched onto his face, but I watched happily as a look of understanding dawned on his face. "It's okay Bella. Really I was kinda expecting it; you've been acting differently lately. I'm alright I promise. We can still be friends right?"

I ran forward and hugged him tightly. "Seth of course we can be. I really do love you; just not the same way anymore. I'm sorry Seth."

He smiled at me and even though there was some sadness in it I knew he would be okay. "It's okay Bells. Everything happens for a reason right?"

"Thanks Seth."

He smiled, genuinely this time, "Your welcome Bella. Just remember that your next boyfriend will have to go through Jasper and me." He winked to let me know he was kidding but I knew he would definitely try and intimidate my next boyfriend.

I rolled my eyes at him before dragging him back to the room so we could meet the rest of them. It had been around 10 minutes since we had left to talk outside and they were all huddled together in a circle not so subtly whispering about us.

Emmett whispered. "I wonder what they're talking about."

Rose answered, "So do I; what's going on?"

Jasper was the first one to see us and he smirked as he said. "Well why don't you turn around and ask them?"

They all jumped in surprise when they saw us and the 4 of them, minus Jasper, looked at us sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes at them before responding to their unasked question. "Seth and I broke up, even though I still love him."

"And I love her." Seth said immediately.

Edward and Emmett seemed confused that we would break up even though we loved each other but Alice, Rose and Jas seemed to understand exactly what I was talking about.

"Wait. Why would you break up if you loved each other?" Emmett asked with a baffled expression on his face.

Jasper saw the grimace both Seth and I barely covered and swiftly smacked the back of Emmett's head.

"Ow! What the hell man? What'd I-"Emmett was quickly cut off by the sharp glare Jazz sent him. "Never mind." He mumbled still rubbing the back of his head.

Jasper turned to look at me with an apologetic expression in his clear blue-grey eyes but I shot him a look to try and stop him from all the self-blame stuff he's been going through. I mean really, what part of me breaking up with someone could be blamed on him? Somehow, I was sure he would come up with a reason for why this was his entire fault.

Stupid Maria, all the shit that went down with her in college changed him a lot. And I didn't like it; I missed my confidant, slightly arrogant Jasper.

I sighed before answering the question that Emmett was trying to ask before Jasper hit him. "Well I still love him, but more as a brother than a boyfriend."

Seth didn't answer and I didn't make him since I knew he didn't feel the same. I felt bad that Seth still loved me, but I knew that this would be better for both of us. After I said that, Emmett seemed uncomfortable about asking the question and I smiled reassuringly at him to show that it was okay.

"So," Rose started with false cheeriness, "What do you guys want? I'll go order."

I smiled lightly at her showing that I appreciated the gesture and said, "I think I'm going to go back to the hotel. I'm not actually all that hungry."

I stood and was only half-surprised to see Jasper stand too. "I'm gonna go with her, I'll see you guys later." He got up and followed me out the door, only pausing to pat Seth reassuringly on the shoulder.

As soon as were out the door I turned to look at Jasper. "J, you don't have to come with me because you feel bad for me. I'm fine by myself." It came out much sharper than I intended and I immediately felt bad when I saw the hurt and uncertainty flicker across his face.

When he spoke again his voice was softer and more heartbreaking than I'd heard it in a long time. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to intrude. Do you… do you want me to go?"

_Shit._ I groaned internally. His self-confidence was already at an all time low and me yelling at him for trying to help me feel better definitely didn't help anything.

"Jasper."

He refused to meet my eye and this time I groaned out loud. "Jasper, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. I just didn't want you to ruin your day for me."

As we entered the hotel, he gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his usually sparkling eyes. "No, it's alright Bella. I get it. Uh, I'm gonna take the stairs. I'll see you upstairs."

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." I muttered to myself as I took the elevator upstairs. We were on the seventh floor and given Jasper's current mood it would take him a while to get upstairs.

I knew that he was just coming with me because a) he didn't want me walking by myself to the hotel b) he knew how much I loved Seth an c) he most likely knew that I would be sad. He probably just thought that he could come and cheer me up.

I sighed angrily at myself as I walked out the elevator doors and down the hall to our room. I quietly slid the keycard into the door and walked into our hotel room, still mad about what happened.

Jasper definitely didn't deserve how I had treated him; he had come outside to try and help me feel better and to protect me and I had been so rude to him. I went and lied down on my bed as I tried to forget what just happened; I'd talk to him when he came back. I vowed then that I would do anything and everything in my power to make sure he got his self-confidence back and so that I would never again have to see the self-doubt his gorgeous eyes almost always held now.

In my head, I kept playing back all the good memories I had of Phoenix. I was glad that we moved to Forks because that's where Jasper lived now but obviously there were some old memories of Phoenix that I didn't want to forget about. However, I knew that moving to Forks meant we would be able to see each other a lot more and that thought made me happier than I could imagine.

Somewhere in the middle of that train of thought, I found myself falling asleep.

"_James! Let me go!" I screamed as he hit me across the cheek. I knew there was going to be the ever present red mark on my face tomorrow morning that I would have to cover up with foundation as always. _

"_No! You will listen to me Bella. Who do you think you are? You have ruined my life and now you will pay." James growled out, accentuating his point by etching even more marks onto my already bruised skin._

_I bit my tongue so I wouldn't scream knowing that my screams always made him more angry and as a result the pain even worse. I tried to hide in the corner only to have him laugh menacingly at me._

"_You think you can hide from me Isabella? I'm your worst nightmare. I'll always find you." He spat out sounding extremely threatening._

_I was shaking and screaming at him to please let me go even though I knew it would only make this worse. There were tears streaming down my face as I cowered away from James._

"Bella! Bella!" I heard a panicked voice yelling my name and felt familiar arms shaking me. "Wake up! Please wake up!"

I startled awake to Jasper hugging me and I couldn't hold back my tears. "Jasper! He was there and he was hitting me and it was s-so real-l!" I sobbed into his tight grip.

His arms wound even tighter around me and I felt safe, for the first time in so long. "Shh Bella. It's ok; it was just a dream. He will never hurt you again. I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure he never gets near you."

His comforting words made me feel better but it also made me angrier at what I had done. Even though I had been so rude to him earlier, he was still here doing everything he could to make me feel better.

He sat by me, talking the whole time and I found that he even made me laugh with his goofy humor. It was nice, seeing this side of him again. He hasn't genuinely laughed in so long and I missed it.

I smiled up at him, thanking him silently with my eyes. In response, he hesitantly smiled back causing me to roll my eyes.

"Jasper before you start, nothing was your fault. It was my fault for being so rude to you outside, and you couldn't have stopped me from having a bad dream. So don't say anything." I said, the threat in my voice barely concealed.

He just shook his head, seemingly giving up for now. He pulled me against him and calmly played with my hair as I gave him the bare details of my nightmare. I didn't want to make him worry, so I tried not to tell him too much.

**JPOV:**

"So," Rose started with false cheeriness, "What do you guys want? I'll go order."

I watched as Bella smiled lightly at her showing that she appreciated the gesture and said, "I think I'm going to go back to the hotel. I'm not actually all that hungry."

She stood and I immediately knew I was going to go with her. "I'll go with her. I'll see you guys later." I got up and followed her out the door only pausing to pat Seth on the shoulder reassuringly.

"J, you don't have to come with me because you feel bad for me. I'm fine by myself." She said so sharply that I couldn't help feeling hurt. I had just wanted to make sure Bella was safe, was I annoying her?

When I finally spoke next I knew my voice was softer and barely concealed what I was feeling. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to intrude. Do you… do you want me to go?"

I could see that she was mad at herself, but it wasn't her fault. It was mine, it always was.

"Jasper." She said pleadingly.

I refused to look her in the eye; I didn't want to see her sadness and the anger that may be directed at me. I heard her groan out loud at my reluctance before she started explaining. "Jasper, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. I just didn't want you to ruin your day for me."

As we reached the hotel, I gave her a small smile. Even though I knew it wouldn't reach my eyes I tried anyway so she wouldn't be mad at herself. "No, it's alright Bella. I get it. Uh, I'm gonna take the stairs. I'll see you upstairs."

I watched as she got in the elevator muttering, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." And I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face.

The walk upstairs seemed to take forever as I analyzed and over-analyzed everything as I always seemed to do. Suddenly, I remembered that Bella hadn't eaten anything at the café. The rest of us had eaten while they were talking and I'm assuming Seth ate after we left.

She was probably starving, I'm pretty sure she just wanted to get out of there at the moment. I quickly ran back into the café, and ordered her something that I was pretty sure she would like.

I paid and sprinted out; shooting a small smile at the others so they would know everything was fine. I walked up the hotel stairs slowly, trying to process everything that had happened. I couldn't deny that I was a little happy that her and Seth had broken up, but I was still hung up on how mad she was at me before. I knew I shouldn't pry in her life, and I guess I had finally annoyed her. I hope she forgave me; the trip wouldn't be the same otherwise.

I was startled out of my inner musings by the sound of Bella screaming, "I'm sorry! James, let go!"

Shit! I really should not have left her alone in her hotel room. Shit. Shit. Shit. That was the only word my brain could process as I ran through the hallway to her room and threw the door open. She was thrashing around on the bed and tears were streaming down her face as she screamed.

"Bella! Bella!" I yelled panicked as I shook her trying to wake her up. "Wake up! Please wake up!"

She startled awake, looking around blearily at first. "Jasper! He was there and he was hitting me and it was s-so real-l!" She sobbed into my arms and my heart ached for what she had been through.

My arms wound even tighter around her and I did everything I could to try and make her feel safe. "Shh Bella. It's ok; it was just a dream. He will never hurt you again. I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure he never gets near you." I vowed completely sincere.

I sat by her talking and trying everything I could to make her laugh. I hated it when Bella cried; the pain didn't suit her beautiful face. I realized that I had slipped back into using my goofy humor, and found that I was laughing with her.

She smiled up at me, unknowingly showing me immense gratitude with one look. In response, I hesitantly smiled back at her causing her to roll her eyes at me.

"Jasper before you start, nothing was your fault. It was my fault for being so rude to you outside, and you couldn't have stopped me from having a bad dream. So don't say anything." She said and I heard the barely concealed threat in her voice.

I wasn't going to say anything to her now because I was pretty sure she would just hit me. I just shook my head and smiled, pulling her against me and positioning us so she was leaning comfortably against me. I played with her hair as she told me about her nightmare. My fists clenched angrily at my sides and I knew Bella was editing for my sake, but there was nothing I could do about that. As much as I wished I could change the past, I couldn't.

Suddenly I remembered the food that I had carelessly thrown on the counter when I ran into her room. I unwillingly let her out of my grip and walked over to get her the sandwich and cookie I had bought when I ran to the café.

"Here, I figured that you just left the café because you felt bad for Seth and I was pretty certain that you were hungry so I got you some food…" I decided to cut off my rambling there and simply thrust the bag with her food in front of her face.

She grabbed the bag from me and tore into her food, stopping to grace me with a small thankful smile. "Thanks Jasper!"

I laughed at her obvious hunger. "Not a problem."

She finished her food quickly and seemed content. "That was a really good cookie!" She exclaimed and I laughed as an easy smile settled onto my face. While her nightmare had definitely not been forgotten, I was trying really hard not to let that ruin the good mood. I would have plenty of time later to try and analyze her dream.

We had somehow ended up lying in the middle of the bed and I couldn't help but smile at how we had turned out. Both of us were on our sides, facing each other and Bella was as close to me as she could get. I had my arms wrapped securely around her waist, pulling her close to me and her hands rested on my chest. My chin rested on her head, and the peace that came over me was undeniably amazing.

It was nice, just the two of us. After a while, her breathing evened out and she fell asleep nestled into me. I realized that this was the first time that I felt completely calm in so long. I knew she was safe and that I didn't have to worry about her and the realization that I was finally with her again made me ecstatic. I spent a good half hour after she fell asleep terrified that she was going to have another nightmare but eventually I noticed the expression of total calm on her face and I couldn't help but think that it had to do with me. The thought alone brought a smile to my face.

I figured that it was likely she would have a nightmare, but I also figured that I would be able to deal with it. I hugged her even closer to me and I felt myself falling asleep with a smile on my face that almost directly mirrored hers.

**A/N: Estimated posting date: 3/17 Reviews make me type faster! **


	9. Fix You

**A/N: Enjoy! R&R! (:**

Chapter Song:  
><strong>Fix You <strong>by Coldplay

"_And the tears come streaming down your face  
>When you lose something you can't replace<br>When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
>Could it be worse?<em>

_Lights will guide you home  
>and ignite your bones<br>and I will try to fix you."_

_**Previously: **__I figured that it was likely she would have a nightmare, but I figured that I would be able to deal with it. I hugged her even closer to me and I felt myself falling asleep with a smile on my face._

**EmPOV: **

After Jasper ran back out of the café with Bella's dinner, everyone just sat there awkwardly until I got bored.

"Well, are we just going to sit here staring at each other's faces?"

Rose laughed silently at me but simultaneously shot me a look, telling me to shut up. She subtly pointed to Seth and I immediately understood why. When I turned to look at him, I noticed that he had his elbows resting on the table and his head was leaning on his hands. He looked utterly heartbroken, and it was only then that I understood how much he loved Bella.

It was obvious that he was in love with her and I knew that if it were up to him they would still be a couple. That revelation led to a lot more respect for Seth; even though he wanted Bella he let her go because he knew that's what she wanted.

"Seth, can I talk to you outside for a bit?" My question garnered a bunch of confused looks and Seth's expression of surprise. He simply nodded his head and we both stood up and walked outside.

"So why'd you want to talk to me?" He drawled, his southern accent sounding almost exactly like Jaspers'.

"I didn't really; I just thought that you could use a break from everyone staring at you."

The look of relief that broke out on his face reinforced my thoughts that he just wanted to be alone right now. "Thank you."

I just nodded my understanding and we stood outside talking for about a half an hour. I learned a lot about Seth and his life in Phoenix; I even managed to weasel out some things about him, Bella and Jasper. Some of his stories made me laugh with their ridiculousness and others caused me to feel surprised at just how different Jasper was when he was with Bella.

Eventually, he seemed to pull himself together and he looked like he was starting to accept his new relationship status with Bella. We headed back into the café where everyone looked ready to go.

"Well, do you guys want to leave now?" Edward asked, pointing to his watch to indicate that it was getting late.

There were murmurs of agreement from everyone and we slowly walked backed to the hotel in comfortable silence. None of us felt the need to fill it with unnecessary talking and I liked how easy it was to be with all of them.

As we walked down the hallway to our rooms, Seth stopped outside his room and turned to face us. "I'm going to go to bed now; I'll catch you guys later."

"Bye Seth." We all said in perfect unison. He waved at us before slipping the key card into the lock and disappearing behind his room door.

When we got the girls room, Rose stopped and turned to look at us. "Do you guys want to come in for a little while?"

Edward and I looked at each other before nodding in agreement and all of us walked into the room. We walked into all the rooms trying to find Bella and Jasper; I knew Jasper wouldn't have left her by herself.

When we walked into Bella's room, all of us smiled at the sight we were met with. They were lying in the middle of the bed and both of them were on their sides, facing each other and Bella was as close to Jasper as she could get. Jasper had his arms wrapped securely around her waist, pulling her close to him and her arms rested on his chest while his chin rested on top of her head. Both of them wore peaceful expressions and small smiles graced their faces.

I was shocked at the look on Jasper's face; never before had I seen him look that happy and peaceful and I knew it was all because of Bella. I never knew he was so carefree and childlike, but already I had seen a whole new side of him. That side usually only ever came out when he was with Bella, but he was starting to open up to us too. Earlier, when we had that glaring competition I was so surprised that Jasper could be that silly.

I turned to look at Edward and noticed that he was wearing that same surprised expression on his face. He turned to meet my gaze and we both understood that we knew so little of the person we thought we knew everything about.

Everything Bella and Jasper did seemed to have some secret meaning that only they knew about. While I knew Bella had secrets, there seemed to be a sense of total honesty and trust between them both. Anyone could plainly see the love they held for each other and I was positive that Jasper cared more about her than about almost anyone else.

Alice squealed quietly and ran off to her room, returning with a camera in her hands. She danced back excitedly and quickly took a bunch of pictures of them before Rose interrupted, "Alice, stop! You're going to wake them up."

Alice immediately stopped; seemingly satisfied with the pictures she had managed to take. We quietly walked back into the living room, trying not to wake them up.

"Hey Ali, can I see the pictures?"

She walked over and handed me the camera and I smiled as I looked through the pictures of them. She had perfectly captured their relationship, and their love was almost blinding with its intensity. Jasper could say whatever the hell he wanted to, but Edward and I were fairly certain that his "brotherly" feelings for Bella weren't all that brotherly.

Every time Seth and Bella kissed, Jas looked like someone had just kicked his damn puppy. His face lit up whenever she walked into the room and he always looked so happy whenever she was around. There was also the fact that he was completely whipped and they weren't even dating; Jasper just always seemed to want to give Bella whatever she wanted. But then again, Bella had that effect on just about everyone.

The biggest thing that sealed Jasper's love for Bella to me was what happened earlier today. At the café when Bella ran off to hug Seth, Jasper looked like he was actually in pain. At least the bullshit he had spewed about not wanting anyone to kiss Bella made sense, but there is no valid reason he could have for the look on his face when she went to go hug him.

Both of them seriously needed to open their eyes.

Eventually, all of us got tired of sitting around talking and Edward and I said goodnight to Alice and Rose and headed back to our room. Before we left, I pressed my lips to Rosie for what was supposed to be a quick kiss but that woman was too addicting for her own good. When her lips met mine, I completely forgot that Eddie and Alice were in the same room until I heard Alice yelling at me to stop trying to "suck the face off her sister".

I broke away from Rose and stuck my tongue out at Alice before walking over to Edward. He quickly kissed Alice and the both of us made our way back to our room. We decided not to wake Jasper up because they looked so comfortable and happy. Also, I was fairly certain Jasper would try and kill me if I dared to wake him up and tell him to come back to our room, away from Bella.

BFSM - BFSM - BFSM - BFSM - BFSM - BFSM

**JPOV:**

I was startled awake by Bella's whimpers and moans of pain. She was shaking in her sleep and torrents of tears were streaming down her face. Her hands were gripping my shirt tightly, and her face was twisted into an expression of agony.

My heart broke at the expression on her face, and I knew I had to wake her up. "Bella hon', it's just a dream. You're safe, I'm here. Nothing bad will ever happen to you again."

I whispered soothingly over and over into her ear until she calmed down somewhat and looked at me gratefully. "Thanks Jay."

I tried my best to smile at her and watched confused as she turned so her back was to me. "Are you ok?"

"Yea, I just wish you didn't have to see that." She all but mumbled into her pillow.

I pulled her close to me, so her back was flush against my chest and my chin rested on her shoulder. "As much as I wish that you didn't have nightmares, I'm glad that you trust me to be here with you. I like helping you through them."

She smiled at me, but she stayed facing the wall away from me. Comforted by the knowledge that Bella was safe in my arms and that she probably wouldn't have another nightmare, I easily drifted off to sleep.

The second time, I woke up due to the urge I had to laugh uncontrollably as I felt someone poking me in the side while giggling lightly. I rolled off the bed in my fit of uncontrollable laughter and sighed in relief when I was finally able to breathe after I stopped laughing. I looked around blearily trying to find my culprit; I followed the sounds of musical laughter to…Bella.

Of course it was her; she was the only one in the world that knew I was ticklish so of course she would use it against me. I glared at her mostly unamused by the way her shoulders shook with her laughter and at the amusement that burned deeply in her eyes.

I huffed loudly before turning away from her and glaring at the wall with my arms crossed across my chest. I had a sneaking suspicion that I looked uncannily like a little kid banished from chocolate and I was proved right when I heard Bella's laughter grow even louder. I felt my scowl grow deeper as I continued my one-sided glaring competition with the wall. Well at least Emmett and Edward weren't here. They would never let me live down the fact that I was _extremely_ ticklish.

"Oh come on J. That was just payback for when you tickled me in the lobby the first day. You can't really be mad." She managed to get out in between her laughter.

When she saw that I was still scowling her giggles began to subside and she crawled over the bed before sitting down on the floor in front of me. She looked at me and seemed to analyze my expression; whatever she saw on my face caused hers to change almost instantaneously.

The large, beautiful smile that was spread across her face slowly disappeared and her eyes lost their usual sparkle and started to well up with tears. Her lip started to tremble and I averted my gaze so I wouldn't give in. "Don't look at her eyes. Don't fall for it. Don't look at her eyes. Don't fall for it." I chanted over and over in my head. Her large Bambi eyes were always my undoing and I knew if I looked at her I'd give in.

"I'm sorry Jasper; please don't be mad at me." She was still staring at me with those large, brown eyes and I was fighting against my instinct that was telling me to go hug her and assure her that I wasn't mad.

"I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? Please Jasper?" Her voice wavered and any resistance I had to her was rendered useless in a matter of seconds. I had a feeling she was acting but she had me wrapped around her little finger and she knew it too.

I sighed loudly and finally turned to fully face her. When I saw her lip pulled between her teeth, I had the unexplainable urge to press my lips to hers. Her lips looked soft and inviting…Wait, what the hell am I thinking about? She was my best friend, practically my sister. I shook my head to clear that train of thought and when I looked back at Bella I noticed that she looked heartbroken.

"Of course I forgive you Bella." I said, pulling her onto my lap in the process so I could hug her.

"Thanks Jasper!" she said cheerfully and her face instantly transformed back to the happiness she was emitting before. Even though I suspected that she was acting for my sake, I couldn't help it when my arms dropped from around her and my jaw fell open in shock at how well she had pulled it off.

"That wasn't fair B!" I groaned as I looked at her pretending to be mad. In response she shot me a huge smile and kissed me on the cheek. When she pulled away, it felt like she took a part of me with her. What the hell?

"I'm sorry Jasper." She said with a huge smile, effectively pulling me out of my stupor.

I rolled my eyes and quietly said, "No you're not." This caused her to laugh and nod her head in agreement. I took this time to look at her and for the first time during this whole trip I noticed that she looked genuinely happy. There were no traces of the pain or strain that had been in her eyes throughout the trip.

I wanted to ask her why she looked so happy suddenly but I didn't know how she would react. I didn't want to unnecessarily bring up James if it would hurt her.

She must have seen my internal conflict on my face because she said, "J, whatever it is you can ask me. I promise I won't get mad."

I opened my mouth to talk but then closed it again unsure if she really meant it. As if she read my mind she smiled reassuringly at me and once again promised she wouldn't mind. I made up my mind to just ask her; I would spend the rest of eternity groveling to make up for it if it upset her in anyway.

"Well, this whole time you've looked sad about something. How come you're…"I broke off not knowing how to finish the sentence without sounding completely stupid.

"How come I'm happy now?" Bella finished and looked at me questioningly. I nodded my head at her, wondering how she knew exactly what I was going to ask. She rolled her eyes at me and gave me her famous _duh _look.

"I felt bad that I was keeping something from you. You're my brother in every sense other than blood Jay. I felt like I was hiding something from you and I hated it. I wanted to tell you but I had no clue how you would react. The pain also had something to do with the fact that I hurt all over." As soon as she finished her sentence she swore quietly as she looked up and saw the panic all over my face.

"Not that it hurts anymore." She finished lamely and I knew she was lying immediately.

I shot up to my full height, so I now stood towering over Bella. "Bella, why didn't you tell me? I should have known this! How do you expect me to help you if you don't even tell me what you're actually going through?" I was going to continue my rant, but stopped when I saw her huddled in on herself trying not to cry.

I walked closer to her and raised my hands with full intent of hugging her but stopped dead in my tracks when she cried out, "Don't hit me! I'm sorry!"

I can't believe she thought I was capable of hitting her. I fled into the kitchen so I wouldn't have to see the look of utter fear on her face. I replayed the situation over and over in my head and I finally came to the conclusion that I was being an asshole. She knew I would never hit her, but then why did she yell out? Then I had an 'Oh shit' moment. The yelling and the blaming probably made her think of James right before he hit her. Dammit, I'm an asshole and to top it off I left her by herself when she was crying.

I quickly walked over to her and sat down on the ground next to her. I pulled her into my lap and turned her around so her head was resting on my chest. I rubbed circles on her back and let her cry herself out knowing it was what she needed to calm down. Sure enough, she soon stopped crying and I was so happy I nearly started dancing. I hated seeing Bella cry; she was supposed to smile at all times.

She looked up at me and her eyes were rimmed with red and when she spoke next her voice was slightly raspy from the tears she was still repressing. "I'm sorry I cried and that I overreacted."

"Bella; you did not overreact. I shouldn't have done that I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry for making you feel threatened." I whispered quietly trying to keep the sadness out of my voice but failing miserably. I squeezed my eyes shut so Bella couldn't decipher anything by looking at my eyes. She would definitely feel bad if she knew that I was sad but it wasn't her fault.

My efforts were effectively wasted when she ran her fingers over my eyes causing them to open involuntarily. She frowned as she saw the anguish evident in my eyes.

"J, I'm really sorry. I never once thought you could hit me. I was just overwhelmed with everything and I let certain memories overtake me." She grimaced slightly as she mentioned her memories and I had a distinct feeling that I was still missing an important part of her life. I wouldn't ask though, I knew she would tell me when she was ready and I would hate myself if I caused her more pain.

I smiled at her and said, "It wasn't your fault." I kept the _It was mine_ to myself.

She knew me well enough to read the second part of the sentence and she stuck her hand out, "It wasn't either of our faults, kay? Truce?"

I looked at her hand warily, still believing that it was my fault but I stuck my hand out anyway and said, "Truce."

I hugged her and she wrapped her small arms around my back. I took a deep breath, and smiled when all I could smell was Bella's strawberry shampoo. That was how Alice found us when she walked in a few minutes later.

"Good Morning!" she called happily.

"Morning Alice." We both responded.

"Jasper, can Rose and I talk to you outside for a bit?" Alice asked, albeit a little timidly.

"Yea sure." I said distractedly looking around the room for Rose. As if on cue she sauntered into the room, tying her hair up.

The three of us left the room and Bella stared at us in confusion. I merely shrugged my shoulders in response, like hell if I knew what this was about. As soon as we got out of the room and shut the door, Rose started talking.

"We want to thank you Jasper." She said bluntly not providing any explanation whatsoever. I looked at her with my best _huh_ look hoping it would elicit an explanation from her.

My complete confusion caused Alice to roll her eyes and give me the famous Bella _duh_ look; I guess they all did that. "Today's the first day since the… the incident that Bella has slept somewhat peacefully. After James she hasn't gone by one day without crying in her sleep or having nightmares or something. Today, even though she did have a nightmare it wasn't anywhere near as bad as they usually are. The only thing different about today is that you were with her Jasper; you helped her. She always told us that you could always calm her down and I guess you did it again. So, Rose and I want to thank you for making Bella feel safe."

I couldn't believe what they were saying. There was no way I was doing something right, was there? I hadn't done anything though, I made her cry.

I didn't realize I said the last part of my sentence out loud until Rose replied. "Jazz, the reason she cried had nothing to do with you. It was the memories that she still has of James and what he did. In fact, you probably made her get over it the fastest so far. So believe it or not, you helped her and we just want to thank you for that."

After they finished talking they went back into the room quietly, clearly seeing the conflict written all over my face. Did I actually help Bella? No, that can't be right. Maria had pretty much drilled it into my brain that I never did anything right and that things were usually my fault. But had I actually done something right for once?

My thoughts were interrupted by the soft click of the door behind me and Bella tugging on my hand to get my attention. I turned to face her and I have no clue what she saw in my eyes but it caused her to start talking.

"Jasper, stop over thinking for once. It's not going to help anything; just let it be." Even as she said it, I knew she didn't believe I would actually 'let it be'. I couldn't do that once I got an idea in my head and she knew that. I really wanted to know if I helped her though. I turned to face her and I looked at her hesitantly trying to find the permission I wanted to ask her the question. She looked at me and gestured for me to go on.

"B, Rose and Alice said something to me but I don't think it can be right. I mean how could it be, it just doesn't make any sense. It's never happened before, why would it happen now. What even made me think that I could have done something? But what if-"My rambling was cut off by Bella closing my mouth and looking at me amusedly.

"Why don't we try this again and this time why don't you actually tell me what happened before you start rambling?"

I nodded my head in response to her request and started talking again, "Rose and Alice thanked me for helping you. They said that it was because of me that your nightmare wasn't that bad. But that can't be true, can it? I mean it's not right that I could have done something helpful. I'm sorry, I'm being silly. They were obviously wrong, I'm just being ridiculous." After I finished I turned to go back inside when Bella tugged on my arm once again.

As I turned her warm hand connected with my face as she slapped me hard. "Ouch!" I yelped, "What was that for?" I asked, still rubbing my face where she slapped me.

She rolled her eyes before replying. "You were being stupid. Obviously you helped me; Jas I've told you this millions of times and I'll tell you again. You and I, we're different. You help me in a different way than everyone else and you make me feel safe. The somewhat lack of nightmares and the pretty decent sleep was because of you. You have to understand that you were the reason behind me actually being able to go back to sleep after that nightmare."

I was still rubbing my cheek and it caused her to giggle lightly. Damn, she slapped hard. "Thanks B. I'm still pretty sure that it was at least somewhat my fault, but thanks for trying."

She smiled at me before replying, "Anytime. Sorry I slapped you." She looked at me sheepishly and I laughed loudly as I told her I deserved it.

We opened the door and walked back into the hotel room; I had my arm slung casually over her shoulders and I smiled when I noticed she was leaning slightly into my embrace. When we got into her empty room, I turned to look at her; wanting answers to a lot of questions.

"Bella, what was your nightmare about?"

She ducked her head in embarrassment, and refused to meet my gaze no matter how much I asked.

"Please B, look at me." I said, practically begging her. Finally, she heeded my request and looked up at me; her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes filled with pain and anguish.

She took a deep breath before proceeding to answer my question. "It was about one of the things that James did to me. Telling you my story just brought back old memories and the emotions were really strong. It's not a big deal, I'm really sorry you had to see that though. You don't have to stay in my room; I know it's probably making you uncomfortable."

"Hey," I started, moving on the bed so I was now facing her direction. "I absolutely hate that you have nightmares; but I'm so happy that you're letting me in. I love that I have the chance to help you through it and I like staying with you here. You make me feel peaceful and calm; so if you don't mind my presence, there's nowhere else I would rather be."

Bella tilted her face up in my direction and shot me a breathtakingly magnificent smile. I simply grinned back at her in response, before our peace was shattered by Emmett's loud voice and him banging on the door.

"Hey! The most amazing person ever is here, so come let me in! Oh, Edward's here too." Emmett said, adding in Edward's presence as an afterthought.

His never-ending exuberance caused Bella and me to laugh deeply before we walked to the living room. I casually dropped onto the couch while Bella went to go open the door for the big oaf and Eddie.

"Thanks Bella. Edward was starting to annoy me with all his complaining about his hair." Emmett said, and I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

I heard Bella's distinct laughter and Edward explaining that he was not complaining, he was simply stating a fact. When they got into my view, I noticed Bella turn to look at Edward's hair calculatingly.

"Do you want me to fix it for you Edward?" Bella asked.

"Can you? It's kinda impossible."

She simply rolled her eyes. "Don't doubt me, now come here." She said pointing to the spot right in front of her.

He simply shrugged his shoulders before going to the spot she had pointed at. She whirled him around so his back was to her, and I saw her push on his shoulders until he bent down to her height. When she was finally the same height, she began running her hands through his hair.

I watched as her fingers nimbly ran through all the knots in his always messed up hair, and I couldn't help but remember when she did that to me two weeks ago. As I watched her touching his hair and the look of utter contentment on his face, an unknown feeling bubbled in my stomach.

Hate? No. Anger? No. Jealousy?

That made no sense though, why the hell would I be jealous of Bella and Edward? I tugged on my hair in confusion as I tried to figure what I was feeling about Bella.

Why in the name of the world was I jealous of my brother and my best friend?

**A/N: Well? Seems like he's finally realizing something, isn't he. Haha. Please review, they make my day and make me type faster! (: **

**Estimated Posting Date: 3/31 **


	10. Opposites Attract

Chapter Song:  
><em><strong>Opposites Attract<strong>_ by Paula Abdul

"_I take-2 steps forward__  
><em>_I take-2 steps back__  
><em>_we come together__  
><em>_Cause opposites attract__  
><em>_and you know-it ain't fiction__  
><em>_Just a natural fact__  
><em>_we come together__  
><em>_Cause opposites attract"_

_Previously: Why in the name of the world was I jealous of my brother and my best friend?_

**JPOV: **

"Jasper. Jasper. Jas. Jazzy. HEY JASPER!" I was startled out of my thoughts by the sound of Bella's voice, clearly tinged with annoyance. When I heard her yelling my name, my head literally snapped up in shock.

"Yea Bells?"

"I was just wondering why you were staring blankly at the wall for about 10 minutes. I called your name at least 20 times and you didn't say anything." As she continued talking, I could hear more and more annoyance seeping into her voice.

"Sorry B." I said, smiling sheepishly at her.

She rolled her eyes before asking me the one question I was trying really hard to avoid. "So why were you so caught up in your thoughts that you couldn't even register amazing me calling your name?"

I smiled at her obvious teasing but made a conscious effort not to maintain eye contact. "Uh, nothing it's not important."

How the hell was I supposed to explain that I've been analyzing all my weird feelings about Bella? I still had no clue why I was jealous of Edward and there was no plausible way for me to explain that to Bella without her thinking I was certifiably insane.

She frowned at my obvious lie and seemed to be debating about whether or not to ask me something. I really didn't want to answer her questions right now, so I opted for trying to subtly change the subject.

"Where is everyone?"

"Rose and Emmett left about 5 minutes ago to go get a movie, Alice is watching TV, and Edward is still sleeping." I was shocked that I had been completely unaware of Em, Rose and Alice leaving the room. But then again, I suppose that was to be expected.

After the little event with Edward and Bella yesterday, I was more confused than ever. I had no clue why I was jealous, or even if I was jealous, and I had no means of explaining all my different emotions. All of yesterday and most of today morning had gone by in a blur as I tried to make sense of everything. However, I had made no progress whatsoever and I was still just as lost as I was yesterday.

I shook my head in an effort to clear my thoughts and realized that I needed to start focusing more on everything around me. As I turned to look at Bella, I noticed that she wore an expression of utter unhappiness blended with confusion, worry and love.

I brought a hand up to her face and traced her frown with my finger as I spoke. "Why the frown?"

She grimaced at being caught before her expression changed, leaving a completely blank look on her face. "No reason. Just hungry, come on let's go wake Edward up so we can eat lunch."

I decided to put Bella's weird behavior at the back of my mind for now; I could always analyze that later along with my own weird behavior. I let Bella drag me out of the hotel room, laughing as she muttered about "pretentious idiots that slept until 2 in the afternoon."

We got to the room that I was supposed to be living in and Bella slammed the door open; seemingly unfazed by the fact that everyone on our floor could probably hear her. When I walked in, I was surprised that I had no clue how to navigate around here. Then again, we usually hung out in the girls' room and I almost always slept in B's room. I really only used this room to change and get stuff from my suitcase.

We finally found Edward's room and Bella tugged on my hand, indicating that she wanted me to get down to her height.

"Hey Jas, what's he scared of?" Bella whispered into my ear and I fought the urge to start laughing.

I smiled brightly at her before whispering what could ultimately lead to Edward's downfall. I watched amused as an excited smirk slid onto her face and as she danced off excitedly to go get something.

I leaned casually against the wall, completely prepared to enjoy the show. Bella returned carrying a bucket of some sort and I watched confused until she poured the bucket of what was probably ice-cold water on Edward.

I bit my tongue to prevent my laughter as Edward screamed like a little girl and rolled off the bed in his attempt to get away from the water. He looked around the room blearily until his eyes rested on me and Bella.

"Fire! Fire! Come on we have to leave!" Bella yelled urgently as I almost bit through my lip, trying not to burst out in laughter. Edward panicked and yelled loudly before he ran out of the room with only his boxers on.

The whole time he was leaving we heard him yelling, "Fire! Fire!" I quickly made my way to the window and signaled to Bella that she should follow me. When I saw Edward standing outside in nothing but boxers at 2 in the afternoon, yelling like a little girl I couldn't take it anymore. I started laughing so hard that I almost fell over with the intensity of it, Bella's arm slipped around my waist and I was doubled over in my laughter. I could feel her shaking against me as she tried to laugh silently.

I finally pulled it together enough to look out the window again. This time a look of realization dawned on Edward's face before a scowl twisted his features as he marched angrily back into the hotel.

"Run!" I yelled as I grabbed Bella's hand and we ran back to her room, laughing like maniacs the whole way. The minute we got in we ran to Bella's room and locked the door, knowing he'd be up any minute now.

Just as predicted, not even a minute later I heard Edward's pounding footsteps as he ran to the room. He started pounding on the door angrily, "That was mean Bella! Let me in, you ruined my hair!" At that, all of my efforts to compose myself literally flew out the window. I collapsed onto the ground, shaking with my laughter and I stayed there until I finally got it under control again.

I don't think I've laughed this much in a long time. _Wait… _I looked at Bella who was currently staring intently at the door; when she felt my gaze on her she turned to face me with a wide smile on her face. The minute she saw the look of understanding on my face she donned a completely innocent expression.

"B…" I said, trying to warn her not to lie to me about it.

"Yea Jazzy?" She asked with a forced air of nonchalance.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Did you wake Edward up like that because you knew it would make me laugh?"

She sighed and seemingly gave up her façade. "Yeaa. You were just so into your thoughts and you looked sad and confused and you wouldn't talk to me… so I figured that this was the second best thing." As she talked she had her eyes trained on the ground so I couldn't see any of the emotions in her expressive eyes.

I immediately strode over to her and scooped her up into a big hug. Her legs were dangling off the ground until she decided to wrap them around my waist. My arms gripped tightly onto her waist, making sure I didn't drop her as I spun us around in circles. "Thank you so much Bella. You're the best friend anyone could ask for." I said with a giant smile on my face.

A look of pain flashed across her face at my words, but it disappeared so quickly I wasn't even sure I had actually seen it. Immediately after, her own magnificent smile lit up her face and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. "Anytime Jas."

Our little moment was interrupted by the sound of Edward banging even louder on the door. "Come on, you can't hide forever!"

We both laughed lightly at his obvious anger before I walked over to the door with Bella still around my waist. The look on Edward's face when he saw us was a comical mix of shock, arrogance, anger and some more shock.

"Yes Edward?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts before turning to Bella with narrowed eyes. "That wasn't very nice of you Bella. You shouldn't have woken me up like that."

At that moment, I thought of the perfect way to get back at Edward and to make sure that Bella was forgiven by him. I leaned down to whisper in Bella's ear, "Pout darlin'. I guarantee you'll get your way."

She smirked slightly to show me she understood before she turned to Edward, tears already welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry Edward. But Jasper and I were bored and it was time for lunch. I just didn't want you to go hungry; I'm sorry, I won't do it again. Will you forgive me?"

As she asked her question she looked at him with sorrowful eyes and her bottom lip jutted out, and I knew he was a goner. Hell if she looked at me like that I'd do absolutely anything she asked me for. Then again, I usually give her what she wants anyway because she's usually right and I almost always like whatever she convinces me to do.

I watched smugly as all the anger melted off of Edward's face. He tried to maintain his angry demeanor but I knew him well enough to know that he was putty in her hands.

"That wasn't nice Bells." He said, not sounding remotely angry whatsoever.

I noticed the smallest smirk flash across B's face before she continued to pout at him. "But it was really funny. You're not really mad are you?"

He sighed, seemingly giving up. "Of course not."

"Great!" She said smiling as she instantly resumed her usual happy behavior.

Edward turned to face me with a look of shock on his face. "Damn. Now I get what you said about her being diabolical."

I smirked at him knowingly as Bella threw her head back and laughed. "Whatever. I am not diabolical."

"Yes you are darlin'." I said, not paying any attention to Edward's raised eyebrow at me calling Bella darlin'.

"How so?" She asked, cocking her eyebrow at me challengingly.

I shifted my hands on her hip so I had a better grip on her before continuing to answer her question. "You manage to convince everyone to do things your way by pouting, and even when you don't try everyone just wants to give you what you want."

"That does not make me diabolical." She protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes…" I started, before being cut off by Edward's amused voice.

"As much as I would love to stand here and watch this little love-fest, I'm starving. Let's go eat lunch!"

I laughed and set B back on the ground. "Great, I ordered pizza and-", that was all I heard before I took off running to go get the door.

I practically ripped the door off the hinges only to be greeted by Emmett's fist punching my forehead. "Dude, what the hell?" I asked, still rubbing my forehead.

"That's what I want to know. You're the one who slammed the door open before I even knocked."

"I thought it was the pizza." I mumbled quietly, hearing everyone laugh loudly around me.

"Shut up." I said petulantly when I heard Bella's musical laughter become louder than everyone else's.

Their laughter was interrupted by someone knocking on the door and Bella's smug voice called my name. "I think _that's _the pizza. Want to go open the door like a normal human being?"

I simply stuck my tongue out at her before walking at a somewhat normal pace to go get the food. I was starving and pizza is possibly one of the best foods in the world.

No matter how hard I tried, I still ended up opening the door somewhat impatiently and when I finally saw the pizza I pretty much grabbed the boxes out of the guy's hands.

"Uhm, that'll be 13 Euros." He said, looking at me with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Uhhh… Bella!"

"Yes Jas?" She asked amusedly when she walked to the door.

"I kinda forgot my money." I said, looking at her sheepishly.

"I figured as much. Here's 15 Euros, keep the change."

"Thank you ma'am." He said as he closed the door behind himself.

The minute he left, Bella turned to look at me with one eyebrow raised. Currently, I had one of the pizza boxes open in my hand and I was quickly shoveling piece after piece of cheesy pizza into my hungry mouth.

"Jas, you realize that the pizza is actually supposed to be for all of us." I shrugged nonchalantly before looking down at the almost empty box in my hands.

"There are still 3 boxes left."

She rolled her eyes, trying to look annoyed but I could clearly see the smile that threatened to break across her face. In response I smiled cheekily at her, causing her to finally give up and laugh. I beamed at her before walking over to pick the remaining boxes up off the ground.

I was interrupted by a small hand on my chest and I looked down at Bella questioningly.  
>"I'll get the boxes; it would be more beneficial to us eating it if you didn't shove all of them in your mouth before we get back to the room."<p>

I stuck my tongue out at her and grudgingly handed her the boxes of pizza because 1) In all honesty, I probably _would _end up eating it and 2) Bella would get her way anyway.

Bella dumped all the boxes on the ground of the living room and went to the kitchen to get plates and soda.

"What soda do you guys want?"

"Fanta." "Coke." "Sprite." "Coke." They each yelled out individually. I didn't even bother responding cause I knew Bella had all of the food I liked pretty much ingrained in her brain.

"You don't want anything Jazz?" Emmett asked, looking at me questioningly.

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, Bella walked back into the room and threw me a root beer. I just held my drink up to Emmett in response and thanked Bella as I popped the cap off and drained half of the bottle in one gulp. Damn, pizza makes you really thirsty.

By the time Bella finished passing out the drinks and got her slice of pizza, I was already done with my drink. I went to take a sip, and when I was met with empty air I turned the bottle upside down and shook it; hoping to get some more delicious root beer.

When I felt a cold bottle hit my face, I turned in the direction the bottle had come from, blinking comically. When I was met with Bella's trademark smirk, I rolled my eyes before picking up the death trap and drinking from it; this time I chose to drink somewhat slowly.

"Was that really necessary?"

"You were looking at the empty bottle like someone just kicked your puppy. I thought you'd appreciate some more soda." She said, raising one eyebrow at me challengingly.

I sighed. "Thanks for the soda; no thanks for throwing it at my face. I think there's been enough damaging my face for today."

"Ehh, you deserved it."

I glared at her before stealing her slice of pizza of her plate and taking a huge bite. I plopped it back onto her plate satisfied and smirked at her bewildered look. "You deserved it." I said mockingly.

She rolled her eyes before finishing the rest of her pizza so I couldn't have any more.

"Dude, European pizza is really good." Emmett said as he finished off a whole box by himself. I was about to make fun of him for eating a whole box by himself but then I remembered that I had pretty much done the same thing.

Instead I settled for rolling my eyes and turning to look at everybody else. Alice and Rose were finished eating, Edward was glaring at Emmett for stealing the last piece of pizza and Bella had another almost untouched piece of pizza left on her plate.

"You gonna eat that?"

She laughed loudly before shoving the plate over to my greedy hands. "Thanks Bella." I mumbled around a mouthful of pizza goodness.

I saw her smile fondly at me and I resisted the urge to smile widely; knowing they would be subject to my pizza stuffed mouth. When I finally finished eating, I pushed the plate away from me and sighed completely satisfied.

"How much pizza did you eat?" Edward asked, with a stunned look on his face.

"A box." I mumbled, hoping fruitlessly that he wouldn't hear me. My prayers were clearly unheard when Emmett's booming laughter echoed throughout the room.

"Oh shut up, I haven't eaten all day." I said, shoving Emmett's shoulder jokingly.

"Why the hell didn't you eat breakfast?"

"I was, uhh…" I trailed off, not really wanting to explain that I was too caught up in my thoughts. I looked at Bella pleadingly, begging her with my eyes to cover for me.

She looked at me curiously but didn't hesitate to come to my rescue. "He was helping me unpack my stuff; I was being really lazy."

I looked to her, grateful that she had given them a somewhat plausible excuse for my lack of breakfast. I knew it bugged her that she didn't know what was going on, but she wouldn't push me. She knew I would tell her when I was ready to; yet another reason I loved Bella so much. She had the ability to understand when to talk and cheer me up and when to just listen to me ramble about random shit and give me my space. Right now was one of those times when I needed some space to wrap my head around my thoughts.

I really wish that I could just figure out what the hell was wrong with me. There was really no reason I could come up with for being jealous of Edward and Bella. Maybe I was scared that Edward would steal my best friend? Nah, I knew that wouldn't happen. She trusted me as of right now and I knew that while she liked Edward, they weren't there yet.

I sighed out loud as I realized I was back to square one. I wasn't jealous cause I was scared of losing her friendship, I'm definitely not jealous of her monopolizing Edward… Aghhh. This is so confusing, someone should write a book about what people's emotions mean. I would definitely buy that.

"Well now that we've discovered Jasper has an appetite to rival Emmett's, what do you want to do?" In response, I stuck my tongue out childishly at Rose. She simply shrugged and I was forced to let it go; that's why it's never a good idea to eat a whole box of pizza.

"Do you wanna go see a movie?"

**EmPOV: **

We had finally gotten to the movie theatre and I'd spent the whole car ride begging Rose to let me drive her gorgeous piece of machinery only to be shot down each and every time.

"Tell you what," She finally snapped. "If you shut the hell up and let me drive, I'll let you drive for 5 minutes in the parking lot of our hotel tomorrow."

I sighed, figuring this was the best I was going to get. "Fine. Don't cha think you should be a little nicer to your boyfriend Ms. Rosalie Lillian Swan? Hmm?"

"Oh shut up." She said jokingly as she slapped my chest lightly. "You know you need someone to keep you in line."

Keep me in line? I don't think so. I knew if I voiced my thoughts she would glare at me and then figure out some way to prove that she was right. Instead I just sat silently as she pulled up into the movie theater parking lot. I got out of the car and surveyed the parking lot and noticed that Alice and Edward were here but Bella and Jasper weren't here yet; that was extremely unusual in and of itself considering Bella was definitely a little speed demon.

They finally pulled up 10 minutes later all of us watched them, wanting to see what they would do. I laughed as Jasper practically ran out of the car, over to Bella's side to open her door for her. Of course Bella decided to make fun of him as she rolled her eyes before curtseying elaborately.

I could see the smile etched onto Jasper's face from all the way over here and saw Bella move closer to Jas before she jumped up to kiss his cheek. His grin seemed to get impossibly wider as he leaned down to press his lips to her forehead.

Finally the rest of us got bored of their little goo-fest, so we walked over to them. "I see we finally beat you Bella." Alice said smugly, clearly hoping to gain a reaction from Bella.

So imagine our surprise when she looked over to Jasper's guilty face and smiled brightly at him before turning to face us. "I guess you did; but the long ride was definitely worth it." She said as she wound her fingers through Jasper's and squeezed his hand.

He smiled gratefully back at her before we all headed into the movie theater. We all decided to go see Hunger Games **(a/n: I know it doesn't match the timeline, but hey, it's all cool.) **and we were waiting in line to buy the tickets. According to Alice, apparently Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson were both 'fine specimens of the earth' and Rose seemed to agree with her. _I am definitely hotter than both of them_, I thought causing me to pout.

"I'm going to get some popcorn. Does anyone else want anything?" Bella asked, looking around.

"Ooh, food!" I yelled as I made my way to her side.

"I'll have M&M's, Alice wants Reese's Pieces and Rose wants Sour Patch Kids." Edward announced.

"No thanks Bells." Jasper said and I watched as Bella frowned at him.

"Don't think you're sharing mine Whitlock. If you want something, tell me now." I laughed as I thought about how Jasper always had to eat something during a movie; judging by the incredulous look on Bella's face, she knew this too.

Jasper just laughed and said, "We'll buy the tickets." as he went back to stand in the rapidly growing line.

Bella finally seemed to notice me and she smiled at me. "What about you, want me to get you anything?"

"I'll come with you; I wanna check out the wide array of delicious European food." She laughed and dragged me along after yelling at Alice to get good seats.

As we waited for our turn at the food line, I decided this was my opportunity to wheedle some much needed information out of Bella.

"So, you and Jasper are close huh?"

"Very close, I've known him since I was a little kid and we used to have a ton of fun together. I'm so glad he's on this trip; it's been forever since we've seen each other." She said, and I noticed that as she talked a giant smile spread across her face.

"How do you feel about him?"

She shot me a weird look, almost as if she was questioning my sanity. "I love him; he's the best friend anyone could ask for and he's absolutely amazing."

I decided it was time to kick this up one notch. "Are you in love with him?"

**A/N: I just went there. Haha, j/k. Please R&R. Reviews = me posting faster. Remember, reviewers get sneak peeks!**

**Estimated Posting Date: 4/21 (Sorry for the delay, works getting really busy)**


	11. Finally Falling

_Chapter Song: _

**Finally Falling **by Victoria Justice and Avan Jogia

"_Suddenly I can see  
>What I didn't before<br>And I don't care  
>What they say anymore<br>Cause I'm falling, falling  
>Finally falling, falling".<em>

**A/N: Enjoy! Hope you like it (: Just so you know, there's a few POV changes this chapter. Sorry for the confusion! So sorry for the delay!  
>Disclaimer: I only own the plot.<strong>

_Recap: __**EmPOV:**__ I decided it was time to kick this up one notch. "Are you in love with him?"_

**EmPOV:**

I watched amused when her face turned bright red as she stuttered and tripped over her words in her hurry to get everything out.

"Excuse me miss, can I help you?"

She quickly strode up to the counter, looking relieved that she didn't have to answer my question. I noticed her collect herself before she ordered 2 bags of m&m's, Reese's pieces, Sour Patch Kids, a medium coke and large popcorn.

When she finished ordering what everybody else wanted, she turned to look at me making sure she didn't meet my eyes. "Do you want anything?" She mumbled, staring at my chest to avoid looking at me.

I couldn't help the smirk that threatened to overtake my face as I walked up to the counter next to her. "I'll have a large sprite and medium popcorn, please."

"Okay. You're total will be 20 Euros." He said, looking at both of us as if trying to figure out who was paying.

Bella pulled out her wallet and started to get out her money but I simply handed the man my own money and gave Bella a bewildered look when she turned to look at me questioningly. "The girl isn't supposed to pay Bella."

"That's why I was paying." She said, smirking proudly at me.

I gasped, before bringing my hand to my chest in mock hurt and looking at her with shock. "I'm hurt Bells. We all know I'm completely manly."

"If you say so Emmy-bear." She said, giggling at the horrified look on my face.

I glared at her before grabbing the food and storming off, muttering about her complete mockery of my name. I heard her giggling as she followed me, and I decided it was my turn to get back at her. I slowed down, so I was now walking alongside Bella and turned to face her with a wicked grin on my face. "So, are you in love with Jasper?"

However, this time instead of becoming flustered, she surprised me when she fixed me with a collected look. "Of course not, he's my best friend." She said coolly, before walking straight into the theater without looking back at me.

Just as the theater doors were about to shut on my baffled face, she stuck her head back out the door. "You coming?"

I shook my head to clear out the confusion before following her into the crowded theater. We walked into the darkened theater just as the last preview ended and I looked for Rosalie knowing Bella was scanning the theater for Jasper's bright blond head.

When we finally spotted them, I noticed Jasper greeted Bella with a smile so big, it threatened to crack his face in half. I pretended to sit down in the one empty seat beside Jasper only to feel him smacking the back of my head and telling me to get out of Bella's seat.

"I don't see her name on it." I said smugly, just trying to get a reaction out of him.

I watched confused as he swiftly pulled something out of his pocket before turning to the chair. After a few seconds, he pointed proudly to the chair. I followed his finger to see the word _**Bella **_scrawled on the chair in Jasper's unmistakable handwriting.

"How rude." I said, jokingly before walking over to sit next to Rosalie as the sounds of their laughter echoed throughout the theater.

**JPOV:**

After standing in a gigantic line all alone to buy the tickets, it was finally my turn at the ticket counter. I quickly bought 6 tickets to Hunger Games before marching into the theater, trying to find the others. I found Rose, Alice and Edward but Bella and Emmett were nowhere in sight.

I sat down right next to Alice and made sure there was an empty seat in between me and Rosalie. "Hey, where are the other two?" I whispered to Alice.

"There still buying food. Why, already miss Bella?" She asked back teasingly.

I stuck my tongue out at her, choosing to ignore the question. I heard her laughing at my clear display of maturity but at the moment I was striving to pretend she didn't exist. Luckily, I was saved by the sight of Emmett and Bella walking up to us.

I grinned widely at Bella, happy that she came at the perfect moment. Emmett chose to sit down in the empty seat right next to me and I smacked the back of his head.

"Get out of Bella's seat moron."

"I don't see her name on it." He said smugly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

I resisted the urge to smirk at him as I pulled a Sharpie out of my pocket and turned to face the chair. After I was done, I pointed proudly to the chair that now had _**Bella **_scrawled across it. He stared at her name on the chair before rolling his eyes and walking away.

"How rude." He muttered as everyone laughed at him.

Bella looked at me amused as she moved to sit in what was now officially her chair. "Was that really necessary?" She asked, leaning in to whisper in my ear.

"Yes." I said, smirking at her slightly.

She laughed at me before settling back into her chair as the movie started. I wasn't really paying any attention to the movie, instead I chose to try and steal Bella's popcorn sneakily. It worked for about 45 minutes before she noticed my thieving hand sneaking into her bucket of popcorn.

"Back off my popcorn, thief!" She smacked my hand. Hard. "I told you to get your own." She said with absolutely no sympathy for smacking my hand as hard as she possibly could.

"Damn Bella. Do you think you could tone down the violence? That hurt!" I exclaimed as I rubbed my hand, trying to get it to stop stinging.

She rolled her eyes before looking at me with a smirk. "I told you that I don't share my popcorn." She said much to Emmett's amusement.

He started laughing so hard that the people in the rows behind us started shushing him. He eventually got his laughter under control right when the security guards walked into the theater angrily.

I shot her a look of fake annoyance before settling back into my seat. Even though Bella seemed to care about me stealing her food, from then on she tilted her bucket of popcorn towards me and settled for smiling and rolling her eyes every time I stole some.

Though the movie was supposed to be really good, I wasn't really paying any attention to it. I was way too preoccupied with my thoughts at the moment. For the past two weeks at least, I had been pretty much ignoring her. I think it started after she told me her story, or maybe it was before. I'm not even sure anymore. I don't even know why I was ignoring her; all I know is that every time I'm around her I feel so confused. This seemed like the only rational conclusion.

Today had actually been one of the only days recently where we've had a good time together and I hadn't left Bella with some lame excuse that I knew she saw right through. I tried not to think about it too much because I knew it made me a horrible person. I knew I would have to at least give her some kind of reason before it was too late and she thought I hated her.

I was so preoccupied thinking about what to do that I didn't even notice the movie end until Bella waved her hand in front of my face repeatedly. "Jazz! Anyone in there?"

I smiled at her sheepishly. "Yea, sorry. Come on, let's go." I held her hand and all of us slowly made our way out of the theater behind the crowd of a hundred people.

"What'd you think of the movie J?"

"Uhm... it was good?" I answered, sounding like I was asking a question when I raised my voice at the end.

"Did you really not watch the movie?" She asked, looking at me with a shocked look on her face.

"I was thinking about something." I said, avoiding her eyes.

I could tell that she wanted to ask me what I was thinking about but I knew she wouldn't ask me in front of everyone. She squeezed my hand to indicate that she wanted to know and she looked at me with worry etched onto her features.

I smiled widely at her to show her that I was okay and then we walked a little faster to catch up to the other four. "Finally! I swear you two walk slower than two old women." Emmett exclaimed the minute we came into view of them.

Bella laughed loudly and I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him, instead choosing to glare at him. "We were admiring the scenery." I said defensively.

He cocked an eyebrow at me before looking around the lobby of the movie theater. "I'm pretty sure there's absolutely nothing interesting about the 'scenery'." He said, using air quotes around the word scenery to further prove his point.

"Yea, well you know what?" I started, trailing off.

"What Jasper?"

This time I couldn't help myself and I did stick my tongue out at him causing everyone around us to start laughing. Emmett smiled smugly, knowing he had won the argument this time.

"Okay okay; we're slow, I get it."

"Glad you understand dude." Edward said, jumping in before Emmett could say something dumb again.

"Before you idiots start arguing about something again, do you wanna go get dinner?" Rosalie cut in, fixing us with a mostly unamused look.

I, on the other hand, looked at her with fake hurt. "Did you just call me an idiot?"

"I'm glad you understand English." She deadpanned causing everyone around me to laugh.

I pouted and stood quietly as they figured out where we were going to eat dinner. I really wanted to interrupt and suggest fast food, but I refused to lose to Rosalie by saying anything. Instead I just stared at Bella, hoping that once again our brains would be functioning on the same wavelength.

"McDonalds!" Bella cheered excitedly; I couldn't help my excited whoop of acknowledgement at her idea and the others turned to stare at me curiously.

"I like fast food." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

Eventually it was decided that McDonald's was a fantastic option and we all walked out to the parking lot. On the way there, I noticed some European dude around our age checking Bella out. I growled quietly under my breath and wrapped my arm securely around her waist, pulling her closer to me. I pressed a kiss to the side of her head, all the while glaring at the random person.

When he finally got the hint, I couldn't help the smug smile that spread eagerly across my face. However, all the smugness drained from my body when Emmett and Edward looked at me knowingly.

"Hey Jazz, are you okay?" Emmett asked with fake concern. "You seemed kind of mad back there."

At his question, Bella turned to look at me with concern and I gritted my teeth as I answered his question. "I'm fine Em." I said, fixing him with a glare that made it clear I wasn't happy anymore.

I turned back around, making the side of my face once again visible to Bella. I felt her finger trace my frown and my clenched jaw and I felt tingles spread throughout my body. _Tingles? _What the hell am I even talking about now? This is exactly why I've been avoiding her. I turned to look at her and noticed that she had her own small frown on her face and her eyebrows were narrowed in annoyance.

"What B?" I asked, failing to keep the anger out of my voice.

A look of hurt flashed through her eyes and her hand immediately fell from my face as she turned so she wasn't facing me anymore. _Shit._

My hand tightened around her waist and I knew I would need to fix this.

We got out front and I suddenly realized that in the middle of my thinking, Bella had moved out of my grasp. Now, she stood almost 5 feet from me and the tension between us was almost palpable.

As we walked to her car, I couldn't help but notice how she made sure to walk out of arm's reach from me. Her eyes refused to meet mine, even when I sighed deeply trying to elicit her attention. We got into her car, and as she peeled out of the parking lot I made the decision to at least try and talk to her. My fingers clenched tightly on the seat in response to her speeding and I knew she caught the action out of the corner of her eye when she slowed down to a much more reasonable speed. I sighed in relief at the change in speed but when I turned and clearly saw the hurt on her face I knew I had to fix this.

I took one of Bella's hands in mine and smiled at the feeling it created. "I'm sorry B."

She sighed before looking over and smiling at me, "It's okay Jas, what were you thinking about back there?"

I blanked out and I couldn't stop the panic that spread through me. What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I couldn't exactly say, 'When you're around, I feel different and when you touched me I felt tingles. So how's the weather?' That would almost definitely get me killed right here.

"I was thinking about James." I blurted out and almost slapped myself when I saw the pained look appear on Bella's face.

She gripped the steering wheel tighter as she took a deep breath to compose herself. "W- why were you… why… why were you thinking about James?" She stuttered out.

I internally smacked myself; this was almost as bad as just telling her what I was really thinking about. I pried her hand off the steering wheel and rubbed circles into her hand with my thumb, trying to calm her down. "Nothing B, I was just angry at him. That's all, nothing you need to worry about."

When she turned to fix me with a steely glare, I knew that was definitely not the right thing to say. "If it involves James, it immediately requires worrying Jasper." I could see the pain and fear hidden behind her anger and I was honestly considering jumping in front of the car and letting her run over me.

"I'm sorry Bella, that's not what I meant." I said, immediately backtracking. "I just meant that I wasn't thinking anything important about him. They were mostly just different ways I could kill him." I said jokingly, trying to change the topic.

When I saw her lips turn up in a smile, I knew I had finally said the right thing at the right time. She giggled quietly and drove with a beautiful smile on her face. "How'd that go J?"

"Oh it was pretty creative." I said, waggling my eyebrows at her when she turned to look at me.

She shook her head at me in mock shame before continuing to drive. "Thanks J."

I turned to look at her completely confused, was she not here when I almost made her cry? "Why the hell are you thanking me Bella?"

She rolled her eyes and looked at me, as if the answer was completely obvious. When all she got in response was my bewildered look, she finally decided to answer my question. "For telling me the truth and for making me feel better."

Even though her words were supposed to be reassuring and grateful, they felt like a punch to the gut. I was most definitely not being truthful to her, and I had only made her feel better after almost making her cry. "There's something wrong with you Bella. I almost made you cry; unless you like crying, there is absolutely nothing you should be thanking me for."

"But Jas, you really did help." She protested.

I clenched my eyes shut and let my head fall back on the seat as my hands automatically fisted themselves. "Just don't thank me Bella, please. I don't deserve it."

She sharply pulled the car of to the side of the road and my eyes flew open when I heard the angry honks behind us at Bella's reckless driving. It was a good thing I opened my eyes, because the minute the car was parked Bella tried slapping me across the face.

I grabbed both of her hands in my hand and turned to look at her, my eyes wide in shock. "Why exactly are you trying to slap me?"

She stopped struggling to get her hands out of mine, so I let them go, shooting her a warning look. "Because you're stupid." She said bluntly, offering no explanation whatsoever.

I crooked my eyebrow at her willing her to explain. When all I got in response was her raising her eyebrow back at me, I sighed loudly. "Why am I stupid?"

"You think you don't deserve it when I thank you. Of course you deserve it you idiot!" She yelled, her voice steadily reaching higher octaves as she got angrier.

"No I don't!" I yelled back, causing her to look at me shocked. "I don't do anything that would ever merit thanks from you. All I do is say and do stupid shit that makes you sad or I act like a complete asshole towards you. Not once have I done something that you would need to thank me for." By the time I was done, my body vibrated with my anger at myself.

Her previous shocked look had faded into one of anger by the time I had finished my rant. I took a deep breath, feeling the anger leave my body. My eyes fell closed of their own accord and I leant my head against the headrest once more. I felt warm fingers caressing my cheek and I opened one eye to see what Bella was doing.

She had a sad look on my face and she stared at me perplexedly, as if she was trying to figure something out. My other eye opened too, and I tilted my head so I could see Bella clearly.

"You are so completely wrong." Her soft voice cut through the silence as she stared at my chest. When she felt my eyes on her, she looked up ever so slightly until her eyes locked with mine.

"Obviously some things you do are going to end up bothering me or somehow remind me of James. But how the hell are you supposed to know that? Everything you have done would have been completely fine with me before everything went down with James. You treat me the way you're used to treating me, it's not like there's a book on how to deal with me Jas. You're doing a pretty awesome job all on your own."

I knew that on some level she was right, but I couldn't help feeling like I should know her better than that. "That may be true B, but I should know you better than that. I should be able to tell what would make you angry or sad, and when I'm being an asshole. I should-"I was cut off by Bella closing my mouth and looking at me annoyed.

"You know me better than anyone else I know Jasper. I know it may seem like a big deal when you make me angry or sad, but you've done a much better job than anyone else has. You treat me so well, that sometimes you make me forget about him. Since you, I've been sleeping so much better. I mean sure I still get nightmares, but with you I get over them so much quicker. You make me feel safe and protected, and that makes everything so much easier."

At the end of her speech, I felt the traitorous sting of tears in my eyes and I shut my eyes as I took deep breaths to compose myself. I finally opened my eyes and shot Bella a huge smile. "Thank you Bella. I love you."

In response, her own smile grew and spread over her face. "Sure thing Jas. I'm in lo-." She started saying before she abruptly snapped her mouth shut.

After a few seconds of silence she started talking again. "Love you too Jasper."

All I could think after that was _What was she going to say to me?_

**A/N: Hmm, I wonder what she was going to say. Haha please R&R. I love hearing what you guys think. **

**Estimated Posting Date: 6/1**


	12. AN:  Important, SO SORRY! Please read!

**Hey guys I'm so sorry for not updating and if you thought this was a real chapter! I promise I will try to update soon but a family emergency occurred recently and this was my first chance to get onto a computer. It will probably take around a month to get the next chapter up I'm so sorry! :/ **

**If I tried writing now it would just turn out crappy with everything going on and I don't want to put up a horrible chapter. I'm really sorry, and I hope you all understand :/ Please keep reading, I'm going to do my best to update as soon as possible!**

**Lots of love,**

**sweetsour115**


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